


Captured

by Jack_Of_Unknown



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Age Difference, Almost Rape, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cheesy, Eating Disorders, F/M, Fluff, Food, Loss of Virginity, Major Character Injury, Major characters death, Maxine "Max" Caulfield has eating disorder, Sex, Slow Burn, Some Plot, Sucidie, Teacher-Student Relationship, Weight, calories, maybe rape eventually/ Non-con, numbers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:20:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 66,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25629604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jack_Of_Unknown/pseuds/Jack_Of_Unknown
Summary: She is all settled in and she can't believe that she is here. She was expecting bad news when she received a letter from the Blackwell Academy. Max never felt more excited and euphoric. Ever since her childhood she dreamt about becoming a photographer, and her parents supported her dream by giving her a polarised camera for her birthday. And now, Max had an opportunity to study photography under her personal idol: photography genius Mark Jefferson.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Mark Jefferson, Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Warren Graham
Comments: 22
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

___oOo___ 

She is all settled in and she can't believe that she is here. She was expecting bad news when she received a letter from the Blackwell Academy. Max never felt more excited and euphoric. Ever since her childhood she dreamt about becoming a photographer, and her parents supported her dream by giving her a polarised camera for her birthday. And now, Max had an opportunity to study photography under her personal idol: photography genius Mark Jefferson. She also never thought that she would return to Arcadia Bay once she moved to Seattle with her parents. One thing Max was surely looking forward to was the ability to eat what she wanted whenever she wanted. She reached whooping 140 lbs a few months ago and worked hard to get down to 120. She never felt better and more energised. Her parents seemed a bit worried about her fast weight loss and Max felt as they were intervening with what she was eating, so she was feeling all ready for the new freedom. 

Returning to Arcadia Bay also meant that she would have to confront her old childhood friend, Chloe. Max never thought that she would stop talking to Chloe after moving away soon after Chloe’s dad had died in a car crash. Is it possible that she didn't have any guts to write to her friend in all these years? This gave Max an uncomfortable feeling in her belly, so she shook the thought off and took a look around her new room. 

Her bed was tidy as she couldn't bear to see it messy. Thanks, mum, she thought. Above her bed, she placed all of her favourite photos and slid some Christmas lights to hang just above them. Her room also had a little sofa. She spent a whole day yesterday sitting there playing her guitar. She always thought that she should play more, but she never had any time for it. It’s a shame... It’s such a cute guitar… Playing guitar also meant that she could keep herself busy from thinking about food. It’s not easy to ignore the fact that you should eat something when your stomach is rumbling. 

Right next to the sofa there was a small wardrobe containing all her clothes, which wasn’t much. But her clothes were cozy, and she likes them that way. Max brought some clothes that were somewhat too small for her at the moment, but her goal was to fit in these new clothes by the end of the semester. I’m still huge, but I’m going to fit in these clothes no matter what. She wished that she started her weight loss journey earlier so that she would feel good about herself before meeting her idol. Max proceeded to hide her secret weighing scale in one of the drawers so that it was easier to access it each morning. On the other side of the room there was a small working desk with her old laptop on it, displaying online pages on Mark Jefferson's photography. That laptop was not much either, but it was enough for her homework. 

She also brought her plant Lisa with her, to remind her of home and her parents. As Max crossed the room she approached the plant: „Drink up.“ she said while watering it „It has electrolytes.“. Max glanced out of the window and dreamily remembered all those times when she and Chloe played pirates. She has to call her, or send her a message. Or anything really, just to let her know that she is back in the Arcadia Bay. But she can't do it now. She will do it as soon as she settles in a bit, in a week - or two. As soon as she settles in a bit. A couple of birds playing on the window drew her attention and she quickly grabbed her camera to take a shot. 

___oOo___ 

As Monday morning slowly crept in, Max found herself still turning around in her bed, excited and nervous but also - tired. She checked her phone and it was only 4 in the morning. She tried to make herself go back to sleep, but she couldn’t. I am going to meet Mark Jefferson! I can't believe it! This is actually going to happen! Max, you need to keep it cool and leave a good first impression. Out of all of her other subjects, Max was mostly interested in the Photography classes. After all, that was the reason she was here. Opportunity to study Photography from Mark Jefferson. 

After she spent at least another hour thinking about her first day and meeting Mark Jefferson instead of sleeping, Max decided to find her way into the shower room, hoping that at least nice, hot shower will help her feel somewhat refreshed. Refreshed and relaxed. I don’t want to lose my shit in front of Mark Jefferson on my first day! I better scrub off that anxiety with some hot water. Max grabbed her shower gel and tossed her towel over her shoulder. She then swiftly stepped out on the hallway and quickly proceeded towards her destination, hoping to avoid all of her new neighbours. Luckily, it was still fairly early and it appeared that the rest of the girls were still asleep. Lost in her thought, Max burst into the shower room scaring both herself and an unexpected neighbour: 

„Oh, hey there, I haven't seen you! “ a blonde girl looked up startled, whipping her mouth as she just finished brushing her teeth. 

„Am, hi! Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you…“ Max looked down at her feet feeling sorry for bursting in on this poor girl like that. 

„No, no it's okay!” Blonde girl said, reassuringly waving her hand. “I am Kate, by the way.“ she offered her hand to Max whilst holding her toothbrush with the other hand. 

„I'm Max.“ she said accepting the handshake. „You can't sleep either, huh?“ 

„No, not really... I wanted to make myself a cup of tea, but we don't have a kitchen area here. A hot cup of tea always helps me to relax.“ 

„Oh, I love tea!” Max said excitedly. It helps with the hunger pangs. “And it is such a shame that we don't have any place to make some beverages, really.“ Max didn’t care for the kitchen, but she would love it if she had a place to make some life saving coffee and her daily dose of green tea. 

„You know what, I've heard about this awesome tea place down in the city, we could go there to try some of those Arcadia Bay teas sometimes?“ Kate offered. 

„Yes, of course! I would love to!“ Max said smiling, and Kate offered a smile in return. 

„Awesome! We will make some plans later then! I have to go get ready now, I will see you later, Max!“ Kate said and left in a hurry. 

As the blonde girl left, Max exhaled heavily and got into the shower. Everything will be fine, Max – she thought as hot water washed down her back. 

Feeling refreshed and clean, Max was parading in front of her wardrobe. It’s time to see where I’m at – she thought to herself as she pulled out her scale. Naked and scared she set her feet on the scale, hoping that yesterday’s meal wouldn’t ruin her progress. 119 lbs. She sighted with relief. Weight was still coming off easily and almost as fast as it did in the beginning. Now, what in the hell should I wear! All of this is just so, so, so worn out! I will leave no impression at all! If I wasn’t this big it would maybe fit me better at least! After a moment of pause, Max threw her arms in the air - You know what, to heck with it. She took her pale blue jeans and a simple faded pink shirt with a white dove on it. This is who I am. And also, these clothes are comfy! Max prepared her notebook and her journal, her old pencil case and her Polaroid camera, placing all of the items in a brown bag over her shoulder. As she looked at her phone, she realized it was only 8am. Her lectures start at 9. Feeling way too excited and having a nervous feeling in her tummy, she decided to leave her dorm anyway and make her way to the school. At least I can take a look around and get some steps in. Lastly, she grabbed her step counting watch and marched off into the day. 

Sun was already peaking behind the mountain when she reached the front of the school. She noticed a big statue standing in the middle of a pool. As she approached it she noticed the sun reflecting off of some coins underneath the water. That is a lot of wishes. I hope they all come true. 

As she looked up, she noticed an interesting light and shadow contrast across the statues face. That will make a brilliant shot! Without a second thought Max took her Polaroid camera out of her bag and took a shot, shaking the film and instantly putting it in her journal, without checking it or waiting for photo to develop. It was a simple habit of hers. 

Max took a moment to look around, to breathe in that fresh Arcadia Bay air. Everything seemed peaceful, with sunshine gently dancing around the green grass. Wind brought the smell of the sea. It is perfect - Max remarked happily. Now all she needed was to find a coffee place. She cannot possibly go into a class without coffee. She knows the way her stomach rumbles if she doesn’t play a good old coffee trick on it. She looked around until she located a canteen sign on the side of the school. 

As Max marched toward her destination with the clear goal in her mind, she suddenly felt the wind wrapping something around her leg. She looked down feeling confused. A paper, a piece of paper? What secrets do you hold, you sneaky thing? Max questioned while picking it up. Missing person? Rachel? Oh gosh, this is so sad! Look at her! She is beautiful! So sad! I wonder what happened to her... And before she knew it, a hoard of students appeared, rushing in for their first day of the lectures at Blackwell Academy. 

___ 

This is it. Max thought as she nervously held her coffee and approached the classroom at the end of the hallway. This is where my future starts, this is where I meet Mark Jefferson. Breathing heavily Max entered the classroom and looked around. A number of students were already in there. She recognised Kate straight away. Also, there is that girl - Victoria, I think that is her name. Max first saw Victoria on the day when she moved in and Victoria managed to leave an impression of particularly rude person within the seconds. Max realised that she was staring once Victoria asked her: “Sup, sad face?”. Feeling confused and anxious, Max found her way to the bottom of the classroom and sat at the empty desk, ignoring Victoria’s death stares. Okay Max, let's do this. Notebook - check, pencil case - check, my camera – check, coffee – check. Only after she heard Victoria’s giggles, Max thought to herself: Oh, I shouldn’t have brought in that old pencil case! It is so embarrassing! 

„Good morning class! “ Mr. Jefferson entered the classroom with quick steps, closing the door behind him and standing in front of everyone. Wowser! He looks sooo much better in person! He was wearing a simple black suit with the white shirt underneath. Shirt top was open just enough to show his collarbones. Max could feel her cheeks getting warmer and she looked down. Keep it together Max! He was silent for a moment. 

„Now. “ He said while his deep brown eyes scanned all of his new students. „Today, “ His gaze met Max and he stopped for a moment. „Today we will be talking about photography, or rather, we will talk about photographers, what makes a photographer. “ 

He leaned against his desk, and whilst explaining that the difference between amateur and artist is one's willingness to share their work with the world, he proceeded to scan all of his students again, but this time examining each one of them more closely. Max noticed that Victoria changed her pose each time Mr. Jefferson would look towards her , almost like she was a model at photograph shooting. Max felt like she couldn’t blame her, Mr. Jefferson surely is very attractive, and Victoria looks good. Look at those stylish clothes! I bet that her shirt costs more than my whole wardrobe. At this point Max felt stupid – And look at me. Look what am I wearing. And look how fat I am. Oh god… 

Mr. Jefferson seemed like he didn't noticed Victoria almost jumping out of her chair. His eyes met Max once again, and as he continued his sentence, he kept the eye contact with her. Max looked straight down to her notes, deciding that doodling a silly face felt like something that could prevent her from blushing. The weird feeling in her belly wasn't helping the warmth she felt in her cheeks while he was looking at her. Better to look away. Ok, relax Max, he is staring at everyone, just relax. Look at your notebook until he goes away. 

„So, now, as I explained what makes the photographer, I would like to know what makes you photographers! Tell me, one by one, what kind of photographer are yo-„ 

„Max there is a selfie queen, she loves her face that much!“ Victoria interrupted Mr. Jefferson, turning around with a grin on her face, pointing a finger at Max. Max felt the instant rush of shame going through her cheeks and hid her face by looking down once again. 

„Victoria. “ he said calmly, and she sat back down in her seat facing forward before he continued trying to catch his train of thoughts. 

In meanwhile, Max found it hard to focus on the lecture. Her mind drifted as she daydreamed about having a lecture without Victoria around. All of a sudden, her camera caught her eye. She carefully picked it up and decided to sneak in a selfie shot. Camera clicked loudly. 

“Shh, I believe Max has taken what you kids call a "selfie"... A dumb word for a wonderful photographic tradition” Mr. Jefferson stopped in his tracks and turned his attention to Max. “Of course, as you all know, the photo portrait has been popular since the early 1800's. Your generation was not the first to use images for "selfie-expression." Sorry. I couldn't resist.” he added waving his hand. “The point remains that the portraiture has always been a vital aspect of art, and photography, for as long as it's been around. Now, Max, since you've captured our interest, can you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?” 

“You're asking me? Let me think... Um...” Max said confused, feeling the warmth creeping up her cheeks again. 

“You either know this or not, Max.” Mr. Jefferson remarked angrily before turning back to the whole class “Is there anybody here who knows their stuff?” 

“Louis Daguerre was a French painter who created "daguerreotypes" a process that gave portraits a sharp reflective style, like a mirror.” Victoria said proudly before turning to Max, “Now you're totally stuck in the Retro Zone. Sad face.” 

“Okay Victoria, that is enough.” Mr. Jefferson interrupted her. He waited a moment until all eyes were back on him before continuing: “Now, I got distracted. Back to the task at hand, I actually have a better idea. To show me what kind of photographer you are, you will bring me one of your photos for our next lecture, which is tomorrow. Also, I expect you to read the chapter one. All of you, did you hear me? Good. You’re dismissed. “ 

Max collected her things, her cheeks beaming red from being called out in front of everyone, especially in front of Mr. Jefferson (especially on a first day!), and with quick steps she proceeded to leave the room. Victoria was already talking with Mr. Jefferson. About what – Max didn't care, she just wanted to get out. As she crossed out to the hallway she felt a gaze at the back of her head, and as everyone else in this situation, she turned around and noticed Mr. Jefferson’s eyes swiftly turning back down to Victoria. What a weird class. Mr. Jefferson must think that I'm such a loser. I can’t believe how much Victoria hates me! Why would she do something like that? She shook her head to shoo off further thoughts, trying to fight off that nasty feeling of embarrassment as her eyes watered up. At least my stomach didn’t growl. Imagine if that happened too. 

Rest of the day went slightly better. Max met this girl Brooke and a guy named Warren in her science class. Warren seemed cute and really jumpy, energetic. He was really into the Science (he only mentioned it six times), and asked for her number straight away. However, Warren didn’t notice the look on Brooke’s face whilst he was smiling at Max. Brainiac, Max thought to herself. 

After the third class finished it was time for a break. Max wanted to get out of the lunch so bad, but she knew that she needed to eat something. Also, it was a great opportunity to meet some people and potentially new friends. Alongside to Warren and Brooke, she also met Dana who was really, but I mean really friendly, and apparently knew a lot more about what was going on at Blackwell Academy than Max did. There was this Vortex club, owned by some guy named Nathan Prescott, and it seemed like his family owned the whole town too. This Vortex club was some kind of elite group that Max was not interested in at all. Dana even knew something about Rachel, but not much. Only that she was a former student and that she went missing about 6 months ago. 

Max decided to keep her meal simple and to take some veggies and a salad on the side. This was the first time Max found herself lying about her food habits: “I’m vegetarian.” she said to the people she barely knew. She didn’t even think about it, it just happened. Good work Max. Now you will have to avoid eating meat in front of everyone for the rest of the year. She would give herself a facepalm if she was alone. 

Last three lectures were long and boring. Max wasn’t really there to learn about language or literature, she was here to learn about art and photography. But this was the part of her curriculum so she had to grit her teeth and do everything she was presented with. At least all of her lecturers seemed nice and Max swore to herself that she was going to try and do her best. 

Feeling somewhat guilty after eating at lunchtime and sitting for the most of the day, Max decided to go for a walk. It was slightly cold but she didn’t mind. 10 000 steps at least – she thought to herself as she marched around the Academy. At least this is the good way to take a good look around and get to know the place better. Luckily, Max found a little coffee shop just on the campuses side and the coffee there seemed to be cheaper than in the canteen. This shop seemed like a good place to grab a coffee each day before her lectures and possibly even a good place to hide during the lunch time. It was maybe a bit too far to make it there during the lunch break, but it was good to know where the shop was. Next to the coffee shop there was a food shop, small clothes shop and small shop with random things in it. Everything that student needs. Now she knew that she didn’t have to go all the way down to the Arcadia Bay to get some basic. 

She walked into the small shop with random things in it and brought herself a nice candle, nice fresh smelling shampoo and earphones. Her old ones broke on her way to the Academy and Max couldn’t go for a run without listening to her music. Now she only had to find a good place to go for a run. Luckily, most of her surroundings were green and there were plenty of walking tracks going into the forest. This made Max feel happy and less anxious as she knew she would be hidden from the rest of the students whilst going for a run. 

As Max reached her dorm, her phone beeped: „Hey Maxinator! Just wanted to make sure that you have my number too! Warren“. She didn’t think much of it. She was just glad that someone was being nice to her. 

However, Max had bigger problems than having Warrens number right now. Which photo am I going to bring in for tomorrow? I don't even… I don't even have the slightest idea of what I might do! Victoria already made me look like a complete loser and weirdo… I need to do something to prove her wrong. But nothing I have feels good enough… Max took a good look at all of her photos above her bed. What will represent me the best? She felt a bit drowsy, worried. She really wanted to prove herself, to show that she is more than, what did Victoria call her again? Ah, the selfie queen. She took a couple of photos off of her wall. I like this one. This is when I went for a walk with my mum. Look at that cute boy and his dog, playing a tug of war, with no worries in the world. Or this one? Father comforting his baby daughter that just fell and skinned her knee? Oh, I don't know. 

In order to clear her head and to think about what she was going to do, Max went for a nice long run down the forest path.


	2. Chapter 2

___oOo___ 

It was only the second day of classes and Max feels sleep deprived. Victoria didn't help last night by loudly explaining her plans of wooing Mr. Jefferson to her new friends. Yes, like he would sleep with a student. Good luck with that – Max shook her head in frustration. He is a lecturer, he has a name and a position to protect. He wouldn’t be that stupid. Or that desperate. He is famous, and very good looking. There is definitely somebody somewhere in his life. 

It didn’t take Max long to grab her shower and get weighted. Her scale said 118.8 lbs. This was a good sign. This meant that she could keep up the same routine as yesterday and she would surely drop another 0.1 or 0.2 lbs by tomorrow. She only wished that Brooke said something more than just – “Hmp.” - in the shower room before focusing back on her phone. Awkward. Max thought, slightly blushing. Anyhow, she had a bigger problem right now. Okay Max, choose, which picture. Boy and his dog or father and his daughter. Yes, Max was all about selfies, but her artistic touch was to capture a moment. The moment. To find emotions; the beauty of surroundings, to capture it forever. Father and his daughter it is. 

Max left the dorm an hour earlier again, this time focused on getting to that small coffee place and grabbing a nice hot beverage to start off the day. She was feeling shaky and needed some liquid energy to push through the morning. Breakfast was not an option. In fact, she stopped eating breakfasts a month ago as it helped with her weight loss journey. 

First few lectures were boring and long, but Warren seemed entertained. As he would notice Max zoning out, he would give her a soft kick in the knee. 

“Ouch!” Max returned to the reality and gave him an angry-confused look. He just smiled and slid her a note. 

“Wanna grab lunch together after?” Max looked at him and gave a slight nod. She wasn’t particularly hungry, but she needed some distraction, and Warren looked like a right person for that job. 

It wasn’t long until the end of the class, but Max wouldn’t have really known as she was lost in her thoughts yet again. Luckily, Warren was there to inform her that class was finished and that they are free to go now. 

Max had to be very careful once they got into the canteen. She was hungry now and she couldn’t risk eating more than yesterday. Max felt anxious enough already and eating in front of other people made her feel even worse. She settled for different veggies this time and took the same salad as yesterday. Warren wanted to get her a drink so she decided to take the diet coke. Even though Max was feeling tired and slow, Warren managed to make her laugh at his silly jokes. 

“Hahaha Warren! How can you say such thing?” Max laughed loudly, holding her tummy as it ached at this point. 

“Well, you know, I am hilarious!” 

“Hahaha whatever you say, silly!” Max straightened up wiping a joy tear out of her eye. “Okay War, I have to go now, I have another lecture.” 

“Okay Maxinator, I will see you around then!” Warren said excitedly and energetically left. Where does he find all that energy? I need some of whatever he is having. 

Max approached Mr. Jefferson’s classroom with a weird feeling in her tummy. She was severely worried and maybe even felt slightly sick. And of course, she was not surprised to see Victoria bugging Mr. Jefferson right in front of the classroom. As she approached, Mr. Jefferson lifted his glance from Victoria and met her eyes. She could instantly feel the warmth creeping up her face, and she did a good job of concealing it. Cool, Max. But Mr. Jefferson was not breaking the eye contact, and even though he was still talking to Victoria, he offered Max a shy smile. Here is where Max lowered her head and looked down her shoes. Dammit. He wins this time. 

“So what do you think about my photograph Mr. Jefferson?” Victoria asked excitedly. “It’s good, right? Like, look at the mixture of light and...” 

Max couldn’t help herself but to take a brief look as she was passing right next to them. And she was surprised. Lights in this photo were amazing! With dark shadow of a bridge falling down and reflecting off of an almost golden river as two lovers were embracing themselves in a hug with the sunset at their back. 

“It certainly is something, but we will discuss this in a class. Same as all other photos, no exceptions, Victoria.” Mr. Jefferson waved his hand. 

Holy shit! How can I ever compete with that? Blood rush that Max somewhat managed to keep under control now overflew her face. She quickly found her way back to her seat and hid her face under her hair. This is what she does best, hiding. 

“Now,” Mr. Jefferson started his lecture; “since we spoke about selfies yesterday, try and contrast Frank's stark Americana with Salvador Dali's surrealist photographs. Like Cocteau, he was a true renaissance man, and his famous self-portraits are early examples of that truly awful word you pesky kids love so much, the "selfie"... And it's a great tradition, and I wholeheartedly fight for your right to self-expression. Or selfie-expression. Heh, sorry, I know.” Mr. Jefferson waved his hand. “So if anybody wants to question the portrait as modern narcissism, they could go back hundreds of years to blame society.” 

Lecture continued and Max once again found herself daydreaming. This time about food, calories and steps she was yet to take. The worry she had about her photo almost completely left her mind as she found herself in zombie like state worrying about calories that go in and calories that go out. Small pause that Mr. Jefferson made brought her back to the present. 

“Speaking of questions, I bet you thought I'd talk all the way until the bell rang. It's your turn to lecture me. Who can tell me the name of the actual process that led to the birth of the self-portrait?” Mr. Jefferson asked and waited. No one said a thing. “Anybody? ... This does not bode well. Just jump right in with an answer, don’t be shy. This was in the chapter you read.” he waved his hands at the whole class. “You did read the chapter, right?” Max noticed that everyone was avoiding to look at Mr. Jefferson, including her. “Your silence is deafening.” Mr. Jefferson continued. “If this were a photo, I'd call it a still life.“ 

After another moment of silence and glaring at his class, Mr. Jefferson continued: “Okay everyone, as discussed yesterday, I hope that you all brought your photographs.” He approached an empty desk in front of Max and leaned on it, tossing a glance over the classroom to see if everyone returned confirming nods. 

“Good. Good.” He said looking pleased. “Before looking at your photos, we will talk about the inspiration.” Here, he stopped his gaze on Max for a few moments before continuing, offering her a tiny smile. 

Did that just happen? This time for sure - Mr. Jefferson was looking at me longer than anyone else! No Max, that is silly. In your dreams, right? But he did smile at you in front of the whole classroom. But then again, he probably smiles at everyone. Why wouldn’t he? I would too, if I had such an amazing smile... I need to stop crushing on this guy and focus. Focus Max. But this was easier said than done. 

As Mr. Jefferson kept on discussing inspiration, Max found herself inspired by his collarbones. And every time he would look at her, she would look away. She figured it was obvious, but she couldn’t really help it. Otherwise, her cheeks would become warm straight away and she would get that weird feeling in her tummy. Like he doesn’t know that he is good looking and that all girls in school are crushing on him. Jeez, what a surprise, there is another one, jeez. 

“Now can you give me an example of a photographer who perfectly captured the human condition in black and white? Anybody? Bueller?” Mr. Jefferson asked. 

“Diane Arbus.” Victoria proudly answered without raising her hand. 

“There you go, Victoria! Why Arbus?” 

“Because of her images of hopeless faces. You feel like, totally haunted by the eyes of those sad mothers and children.” 

“She saw humanity as tortured, right? And frankly, it's bullshit. Shh, keep that to yourself. Seriously though, I could frame any one of you in a dark corner, and capture you in a moment of desperation. And any one of you could do that to me. Isn't that too easy? Too obvious?” 

It was hard for Max to stay focused. Those deep brown eyes seemed to make her feel dreamy. Ah, Mr. Jefferson, why are your eyes so beautiful. She found herself daydreaming once again. But seriously now, Max. Like, this is getting out of the hand. This is totally stupid. 

“Now, by asking you to bring in your photos, I was hoping to get to know you better, but also to see what inspires you. Let’s start with Victoria, show us that photograph.” Mr. Jefferson said waving his hand. Instantly, Victoria jumped and rushed towards him fixing her blouse. She explained her inspiration to be as a beautiful as the love of these two lovers - as is her love towards photography. Max cringed. Wowser, even I wouldn’t say something so embarrassing like that. Mr. Jefferson was impressed and explained how important was this play of light and dark. 

Everyone, one by one, stood up and represented their photo explaining it and explaining their inspirations, while Mr. Jefferson observed and gave a few notes or comments on their work. 

“Now, Max, let us see what you’ve got.” Mr. Jefferson said approaching her desk. 

“Do I have to?” she almost whispered. 

Mr. Jefferson’s eyebrows slowly frowned in confusion as he started: “Well, of cour-“the bell rang announcing the end of the class, and before Max knew it, everyone was packing up and preparing to rush off back to their dorms, and Mr. Jefferson turned around to remind his students of the chapters they needed to read by yelling the chapter numbers after them. Max saw this as an opportunity and started packing up as quick as possible, hoping that she might be able to sneak out in all that rush. 

“Just where are you going?” Mr. Jefferson asked crossing his arms and raising his brows whilst switching his attention back to Max. 

“Am, um, the class finished, so I guessed…” 

“Now, now, Max. I still need to see your photo, it was homework, you know.” 

“I didn’t have any time…” Max grabbed her elbow, looking down at her feet, feeling extremely anxious. At this point, it was only two of them left and Max felt extremely ashamed of all of those lovely thoughts she had about him earlier during the lecture. 

After considering her for a moment, Mr. Jefferson waved his hand and said: “Max, you’re a better photographer than a liar, I am sure of that. Let me see it.” 

Seeing that she couldn’t escape this, she simply handed over her photo feeling her cheeks blush. Mr. Jefferson took a good look at it, and his face softened. 

“Max, wow, this is, this is amazing! Look at those emotions! So pure! So, so in the moment! You captured a pure emotion of worry and fear within the father, and his daughter in pain seeking and knowing that she will get comforted by him. This is amazing!” 

“Am, wowser, thank you, Mr. Jefferson.” She could feel her cheeks getting even warmer, but she couldn’t stop her lips from slightly curving. Mr. Jefferson looked at her. 

“This is amazing, Max.” he said while waving her photo “You have a gift. Don’t be afraid to show it, ever. You need to find the courage to share this gift with the world.” Mr. Jefferson handed photo back to Max and gave her a warm smile. As she took her photo, their fingers touched. That strange feeling in Max’s belly intensified to the point that it became uncomfortable. Their eyes met once again. 

“Ah, Max! There you are! I was looking all over for you!” Warren entered the room happily, breaking off the eye contact between them that seemed to last for ages, rather than just for a couple of seconds (at least to Max). 

“Oh, hi Warr. I was just about to go…” At the corner of her eye Max saw Mr. Jefferson crossing his arms again, taking a good look at Warren. 

“Come with me, you need to see this! Some guys were skating in front of, just there, and then they… Come, you have to see this!” Warren started to jump in the place out of excitement. 

“Off you go Max, you have more exciting places to be than here.” Mr. Jefferson said waving his hand while smiling at Warren. 

She left the room quickly (mostly because Warren was dragging her out by the arm), smiling wide. I can’t believe he just said that about my photo, about me! I have a gift! Max has a gift! I can’t believe this! And, and he smiled at me! He was impressed! You are rocking it, Max! Holy shit! 

Warren was a fun, cute guy, but his excitement and energy seemed to make Max even more tired. She hasn’t slept properly for a while, and all this stress and anxiety (and whatever that feeling in her tummy was) she felt because of Mr. Jefferson did not help her sleep at all. And after another hour she spent laughing her heart out with Warren, she felt like she couldn’t breathe or move anymore. And all of a sudden, her face became serious. 

“What is wrong Max?” Warren asked changing his facial expression too. 

“It’s nothing Warren, really, I am just tired.” She said, almost sounding sad. 

“Can’t sleep huh? 

“No, not really. A lot of things are going through my mind right now,” 

“You know what, I’ve got LOADS of movies on my USB stick. I might borrow you that. Movies always help me fall asleep, and also there are so many movies that you ABSOLUTELY have to watch if you haven’t already!” 

“That is awesome, Warren. Thank you. I will see if I can pick it up, like, tomorrow or something. I think I will sleep just fine tonight. More like, fall unconscious as soon as I hit my pillow.” 

“Of course Maxinator, just let me know when you want it.” Warren said offering a smile and a squeeze on her shoulder. Max smiled back, feeling grateful. 

___ 

I was so wrong. Max thought as she was spinning around her bed. I. Need. To. Sleep. Phew, it is not really working, is it? Well, okay then, brain. What do you have in store for me? She asked herself, positioning herself on her back, covering her face with a pillow. 

It was an interesting couple of days, wasn’t it? First, Victoria made fun of me in front of Mr. Jefferson and in front of the whole class, but then I manage to impress him. Things he said about my photo, things he said about me! I have a gift. A GIFT. Wowser, that sounds amazing! And he smiled! Holy shit he smiled and touched my fingers. Now, of course, I know it is all in my head, but at least I can daydream about whatever I want. So, I will do that. I will daydream about Mr. Jefferson smiling at me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be uploading chapter per day until it catches up to where I got so far with the story :) sorry about my grammar btw, this is my second language. Hope you'll enjoy


	3. Chapter 3

___oOo___ 

Now, mornings can surely be interesting in girl’s dorm. This morning, for instance, started with someone slamming their doors at the break of the dawn as loud as possible. Almost like announcing – if I couldn’t get a good night sleep, neither will any of you. 

Max peaked out of her room annoyed, wondering what in the hell was going on, and surely enough, Victoria stood just there opening and slamming her door shut. 

“What in the-“ Max didn’t even manage to start letting her frustration out on Victoria when she replied; 

“What’s wrong, sad face. Can’t sleep? What a shame.”, the grin on her face widened as she proceeded to slam her door again. 

Max decided that there was no point in arguing with idiots and decided to grab one of those anxiety-releasing showers; also hoping that this shower would somehow become magical and make her feel rested as well. 

She noticed that she wasn’t the only one peeking out of her room. Dana and couple of other girls exchanged puzzled looks and sighted before returning to their rooms. Kate was there too, looking like she didn’t sleep at all, holding a book (which could probably explain why). 

“Is that ‘The October Country’?” Max asked noticing the book cover, approaching her. 

“Yes indeed it is. You’ve heard of Ray Bradbury?” Kate responded surprised. 

“Of course! My all-time favourite was ‘The man upstairs’, but I also liked ‘Jack-in-the-Box’! But as much as I wanted, I could never get my hands on ‘The October Country’.” 

Kate seemed even more surprised, and after a moment of silence, she replied: “You know what, you can borrow this, I already read it, like, three times! I will ask back for it at one point though, as I need it for one of my essays.” 

“Thank you so much Kate! That is so sweet! And you know what, when I read it, we will go downtown for that tea and discuss all of our Ray Bradbury’s favourites!” Max felt her heart fill with warmth. 

“That is a deal!” Kate said satisfied, offering Max her book. 

Max maybe didn’t get enough sleep, but at least her scale showed 118.6, which was another 0.2 lbs down. Whatever she was doing, she was obviously doing it right. But since she skipped her run routine yesterday, she had to make up for it today. Luckily, it was still fairly early, so Max got her running gear on and went for a nice run. She still had plenty of time to have a shower and get to a coffee shop after. At least Victoria’s nonsense was good for something. 

___ 

The morning was nice and warm again. This made the whole population of Blackwell squirrels playful. And there were two of them, grooming each other’s tails, right there, right in front of the school, right in front of Max. She had to capture it, and before she knew it, her Polaroid camera was making a loud click noise, scaring both squirrels away with a flash. 

“Nice camera you’ve got there.” Mr. Jefferson noticed amused with a smiling grin on his face, his arms crossed. Max didn’t even notice him standing there, observing her as she tried to find a perfect angle. 

“Am, well,” Max was startled “you see, my camera might be old and it might not have the resolution as good as other cameras, but it captures the moment, like, right there, right then.” Max answered with more confidence than she thought she had in herself. Mr. Jefferson stood there in silence for a moment, considering. 

“I mean, it’s like, nothing like the camera you have. I think I would have to cash out my whole scholarship just to afford it.” Max continued, grabbing her elbow to shield herself from Mr. Jefferson’s piercing eyes. 

“No, you are right with this one Max. It does capture the moment in the moment. I see…”, he answered, still considering, his arms dropping from his chest to his legs. “It is all about capturing the moment, isn’t it? The beauty of it, that is what photography is about, is it not?”. Max wasn’t sure if this was a rhetorical question or not, so she said nothing and only slightly nodded her head. 

“Can I see it? The film?” he asked raising his hand towards Max, waiting for her to hand over the photo. 

“Am, yes, I mean, yes.”. She got confused and it took her a moment to locate her Journal and to find that last photo. She had to be very careful because in the journal she was putting her new photos in was the same journal where she was writing down all of her daily intakes and burned calories. She was also writing about Mr. Jefferson a lot so she could feel her cheeks getting warmer as she was awkwardly flipping pages to find the new photo. Max finally pulled out the photo and handed it over, trying to control the amount of blood rushing towards her ears. Mr. Jefferson looked at it for a long moment, silent. Max felt like she was standing on a bunch of needles, waiting for judgement. Mr. Jefferson finally opened his mouth- 

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!”. Max felt something big crushing straight into her side with the force strong enough to kick her off her feet. Mr. Jefferson was fast enough to reach out with one hand and hold on her until she established her balance once again. 

“Hey! Nathan! You be nice now!” Mr. Jefferson warned the boy passing by. “I will see you in my office after mister!” he added but Nathan didn’t seem to hear or care. Max only rose her gaze up trying to find Mr. Jefferson’s eyes while grabbing her aching shoulder. “Max, are you…” 

“MAX! Are you okay?!”. Out of nowhere - Warren rushed in, tossing a worried glance at her and then an angry stare after Nathan Prescott. 

“I’m fine.” Max responded whilst rubbing her shoulder and looking up at Warren, barely noticing Mr. Jefferson crossing his arms again. 

“Come, lets’ find you a cold soda can so you can cool off your shoulder.” Warren offered picking up her bag that (she didn’t even notice) fell off her shoulder. As Warren rushed off she forced herself to follow him, but Mr. Jefferson’s voice stopped her once again. 

“Maxine, go see a nurse. I’ll see you in the classroom later.” He offered with a worried nod. 

“Just Max! Never Maxine!”, she said before rushing off after Warren. 

Usually, Max wouldn’t even notice a couple of lectures passing by, but it is harder to ignore time when your whole shoulder is aching. True, cold soda can did help a bit, but not for long. And other thing that was really not helping was Warren’s constant worried glances and questions. 

“I am fine. You can drop it.” – she would have to whisper at him every now and then, feeling more distressed after each time. 

Her stomach was quietly rumbling and all she could think about was how shaky she felt. She was getting so hungry that it started to numb out the shoulder pain. Urghhh, I’m having a blood sugar drop. I feel absolutely horrible. Max placed her aching arm over her stomach hoping that it would help to quite it down. I only wish that soda can was a diet soda. She started to feel almost desperate as the cold sweat started to kick in. No, no, no. You are not going to eat Max. No way. You are doing so well. Forget about the food. 

The lunch break was nearing, and Max increasingly felt anxious about eating anything at all. So as soon as the bell rang, she excused herself to the ladies’ room looking forward to at least one moment of peace and quiet. A quick splash of cool water on her face helped her to calm down. But she still felt anxious about having anything to eat and there was still some time before her next class. 

So Max ventured off to the second floor of the Blackwell Academy. Never been up there, all my lectures are on the first floor. So, why the hell not. I actually might find a better place to hide than this stinky bathroom. 

Informatics labs and classrooms were placed down the long hallway. Her knees felt weak as she walked. The robotics lab drew her attention. There must be where Brooke spends most of her days. But other than that it looked the same, smelled the same. Only differences were the offices. Michelle Grant – Mathematics… Mark Jefferson – Photography. Oh! There is his office. 

As soon as that thought occurred, door opened and Max jumped, startled, as the office door almost hit her. Nathan and Mr. Jefferson walked out. Nathan gave Max a mixture of a surprised glance and angry look and proceeded to storm off down the hallway. 

“Max? Hi,” Mr. Jefferson said confused, “what are you… Did you need me for something?” 

“Hi, Mr. Jefferson...” Max grabbed her elbow and looked after the Nathan, “No, sorry to bother you. I had some free time… I went for a walk.”. 

“For a walk?” asked Mr. Jefferson confused, scanning the long hallway up and down with his eyes almost like he was expecting to see something entertaining happening. “Up here? To check this interesting floor?” he asked jokingly. “Don’t tell me that you already managed to eat your lunch? Twenty minutes are not enough for me, that’s for sure!” he explained waving his hands. 

“I wasn’t hungry really, so I just had some time.” 

Mr. Jefferson looked at her for a second. “Have you been to see the nurse? You have to eat something, it’s a long day.” 

“I don’t need a nurse, it’s nothing, really. And I know. I’m just not really hungry…” she looked at her feet, feeling very anxious because he mentioned eating. It’s enough to be in his presence to feel this anxious, why is he asking me about the food? 

“You need to eat, this is unacceptable. Here, take this. And if you refuse, I will get angry. I won’t have anyone fainting in my school.” He offered Max his chocolate bar. 

Blushing, she muttered out: “But Mr. Jefferson, that is your…” 

“Do you want me to get angry? No? Good. Now eat. And I hope that you can walk and eat as my lecture is about to start. Let’s go.” 

Walk itself was awkward enough. Max felt anxious chewing down on that chocolate bar, but also grateful as Mr. Jefferson seemed to care. However, she hoped that he wouldn’t keep on offering her his chocolate bars as this would make her fat. It would have been better that I had my veggies and salad for lunch. This will now put me at 800 calories by the end of the day at least! This thought made it hard for her to swallow the piece she was chewing on, so she low key hid the rest of the chocolate bar in her pocket. 

Mr. Jefferson rubbed his neck: “I forgot to give you back that photo from earlier today as you stormed off. I have it up, in my office, so just remind me to get it for you.” 

“That is okay, Mr. Jefferson. And thank you, for this chocolate bar, and I really mean it!” Max added hoping that he didn’t notice her hiding the other half of the bar away. 

“Don’t mention it, Max. Once again, none of my students will be fainting around as long as I’ve got some chocolate in my pockets. You guys are having long days in here and it’s easy to forget to eat something.” He replied offering a wide smile, making a long eye contact with her. And she did her best not to break it. And she did good, for a moment at least. That explains why he is carrying chocolate in his pockets. He probably had students fainting before due to forgetting to eat or just not having enough time to eat. 

At the corner of her eye Max noticed Warren passing by. Before she managed to say or do anything, he energetically waved and passed over loudly: “Maximus! Meet me in front of the school after your class!” and he was back to running toward his science lecture. Max would answer him, but he was already gone. Silly, silly Warren. 

“Good boy-friend you’ve got there.” Mr. Jefferson noticed, looking after him. “He sure knows how to take care of the injuries.” 

“He is not my boyfriend!” 

Max doesn’t even know why she said that. I mean, it is true! He is not my boyfriend, but why in the hell do you need to sound so defensive in front of your photography teacher! Like he cares. Omg, he said boy-friend. Holy shit Max. Not cool, not cool. She could feel the warmth creeping up her face as she felt ridiculously more and more stupid for bursting out something like that. 

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry, it is not my place.” Mr. Jefferson apologised politely, waving his hands and showing Max to enter the classroom. 

Max was never one of those people who were able to concentrate during the class. Her mind just likes to wander. Especially when there is someone as attractive as Mr. Jefferson in the room. And especially as someone as attractive as Mr. Jefferson was this close and leaning on an empty desk just in front of her. And his long gazes and all those eye contacts made Max feel swooped, so she decided to switch her daydreams to something that was on the other side of the room, like that lighthouse poster there. The only thing that got her attention was Victoria’s rude interrupting. She knows her thing, I will give her that. But it does not excuse this behaviour. 

As Max adjusted in her chair, she heard the crumbling of the chocolate bar wrap in her pocket. This reminded her that she barely ate anything today. She had no breakfast and no lunch. Max swiftly pulled the chocolate bar out of her pocket and hid it in her old pencil case. She slowly adjusted the bar so that she could see the nutritional information. 280 calories, yikes! Good thing is that I only had a half of it. That puts me at 140 calories for today. Oh boy, I could have larger dinner! I have some calorie space so maybe I could have that yummy looking noodles from the canteen! Those have around 400 to 600 calories so I can have filling dinner and still be under my calorie limit! Max actually felt excited and she quickly took out her journal to write down her plans and calorie intake. She already managed over 10 000 steps today because of the run she had this morning, and she is still to have a run in the evening. 

“Max?” she looked up from her journal almost startled, realising that Mr. Jefferson was waiting for her to say something. But she had no idea what. 

Simple “Am-“ escaped her mouth as she blushed. Victoria shouted out a name. Mr. Jefferson only looked at Max for a moment before resuming his lecture. Dammit Max. You did this one to yourself. What did I say about focusing! 

Her phone silently buzzed in her pocket, and she figured that she could check it. It is not like she knows what is going on in the lecture anyway. 

“Don’t forget to meet me outside”. I didn’t and I won’t, Warren. 

“Shh. I think that Max just received an important message.” Max jerked her head upwards and noticed Mr. Jefferson eyebrows curving as he crossed his arms. “I will see you after class, miss.” he said simply, his voice sounding low and threatening. Victoria turned around, wide smile on her face, looking satisfied that Max got herself in trouble. Oh no. 

The class was over sooner than Max wanted, and everyone was out faster than she hoped. There was nothing else for her to do but to walk up to Mr. Jefferson who was waiting at the front of the room, looking at her with his arms crossed. 

“What is going on Max?” 

“I don’t know Mr. Jefferson. I just…” 

“You know that I do not tolerate phones during my lecture. I hope that you at least paid attention to my rules. I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t hear them actually, considering how much time you spend being somewhere else.” he sounded angry, but when Max responded by looking down at her shoes, he proceeded to unfold his arms, looking slightly worried “Are you okay? You look pale.” 

“I… I will be okay. I am just not sleeping very well.” 

“Beds here are that bad, huh? Does your shoulder still hurt?” 

“It is okay.” Max rubbed it, looking down at her feet. “Sorry about this phone situation Mr. Jefferson.” she said sheepishly, feeling really anxious and sad, truly sorry for what she did. 

“Just, don’t do it again, okay? And try to pay some attention, Max. You are here to learn. And I thought you liked photography.” Mr. Jefferson lifted his hand, looking almost disappointed. 

“I do!” she protested almost angrily. “I just had a rough couple of days, that’s all.” 

“I understand that it’s hard to leave home and start life on your own, but such is life. You have to fight, no one and nothing will wait for you. Art is competitive, and if anyone sees that they can take you down, they will. Count on that.” She only gave him a worried look. “Max, I don’t mean to scare you or to discourage you. Now I know it's a drag to hear some old dude lecture you... but life won't wait for you to play catch-up. You're young, the world is yours, blah blah blah, right? But you DO have a gift, you have the fever to take images. Use that, and use this opportunity you have to study. Let me be your teacher.” 

“Mr. Jefferson, I… Thank you.” 

“Now, there is this-“ 

“There you are!” Warren interrupted “I was waiting for you for ages! Come on!” 

“I… Warren, just a second!” she looked at him and then back at Mr. Jefferson slightly confused. “Sorry, Mr. Jefferson, you were saying?” 

“It’s not important right now, it can wait.” he responded and crossed his arms. “Off you go, I held you long enough.” He offered a nod to Warren. 

It took Max a second to snap out of confusion and to gather her thoughts. Right, I was leaving. As she stepped outside, Mr. Jefferson added: “You’re not out of this texting thing yet, but we will deal with that another time!”. 

Warren thought that it was a beautiful day and that it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. The walk seemed like an awesome idea. Max thought that it was nice to enjoy the breeze for a while and the company wasn’t all that bad either. Actually, after some time her stomach was hurting from laughing, again, and her eyes were tearing up, again. She felt so lucky to find a friend so quickly. As Warren agreed they decided to take a picture to remember this moment for years to come. As they were smiling for the camera, a car passing by slowed down - but drove off after just a few seconds. Was that? That is Mr. Jefferson’s car? I think it is? Why, did he…? No, Max. You’re mixing your daydreams with reality again. She shook her head to shoo this feeling off and returned to the task at the hand. The photo was pretty awesome and Warren proposed an exchange: that photo for the USB stick with lots of movies. 

Max would have preferred to have an early night tonight, but there was still a run she had to take. She grabbed her running gear and decided to try out her new earphones. Nothing better than relaxing music while running – she thought as she ran through the small forest path. Twenty thousand steps here I come.


	4. Chapter 4

___oOo___ 

Good thing is that I had those noodles for dinner yesterday. At least I was able to fall asleep. Max woke up feeling rested. Anxious to see what her scale would show, she decided to weight in before grabbing a shower. After getting naked Max looked at the mirror. Fat – she thought to herself as she grabbed her stomach. Then she noticed her collarbones and tracked them with her fingers. She set her feet on a scale and took a moment to breathe before looking down – please be another 0.2 lbs down, please be 118.4. Max looked down. The scale showed 118.5. “HOW THE FUCK!” she yelled in disbelief. It must be food and water weight! It absolutely must be that! There is no other explanation! I ate less than 800 calories yesterday and went for a run twice! I burned over a thousand calories. Why isn’t the scale showing it?! As she started to feel more and more anxious with each thought, she decided to grab a shower and to proceed with her day. It must be food and water weight. 

The whole morning felt distant to Max. She can barely remember any of her lectures as she was doodling in her notebook all day long. But she was paying attention in Mr. Jefferson’s class. She promised herself that she would. Especially after he seemed to be disappointed last time they spoke, and she couldn’t bear the thought of Mr. Jefferson being disappointed with her. 

“Everybody listen up.” Mr. Jefferson started after a short break, “There is a task for all of you, an assignment.” The whole class grunted as a result. “Shhh.” he continued, “your task is to create a portfolio folder of your photographs. You will be collecting any and all of your further work in this folder. You can start by collecting some photos with the theme of student life here at Blackwell Academy. Any questions?” he asked and looked around the classroom. 

Max held her hand up. Mr. Jefferson’s brows went up in the confusion for a second, almost as he did not expect to see Max participating. “Yes, Max?” 

She felt her cheeks go slightly red but she ignored it and asked: “How many photos should be in our portfolio each week? And how often will you grade it? Also, when will we know the theme for the following week?” class murmured in the agreement with Max’s questions. 

Mr. Jefferson looked pleasantly surprised. “Ah yes, those are all good questions! Thank you, Max! So, you should aim for ten to fifteen photos for your weekly tasks, with ten photos being a minimum you must submit. I will be grading these each week. You will get the new theme on Mondays and I want your portfolios on my desk by the following Monday.” 

“Does that mean we only have four days until we have to submit our first portfolio folder?” Max asked. 

“Another good question! And no, you have until the Monday after. I’m giving you all some extra time for the first portfolio folder. But I do expect good work from all of you guys!” 

Mr. Jefferson was, as always, leaning on an empty desk in front of Max, and he looked satisfied with Max paying attention in his class. So much that his mood seemed to lift, and even so much that he was encouraging her further to take part in his lesson. Or at least that is how she felt, and constant blushing was proof enough for her. 

As soon as the class was over, Victoria was on her feet and talking to Mr. Jefferson about her portfolio. Max wanted to say something, but he seemed entertained and was smiling, so instead, she left. As she was leaving, she felt a sudden shift in his voice and a gaze following her out. 

Victoria was loud again that nigh. She was bragging to her friends about having an interesting conversation with Mr. Jefferson who wouldn’t stop smiling. And those words hurt Max more than she thought was possible. But hearing that Victoria is utterly glad that that slut Rachel was missing as she was sleeping with Mr. Jefferson (as rumors had it) – this gave Max shivers. First, the idea that Mr. Jefferson would be inappropriate like that with a student was unimaginable, and second, even saying something like that was just so wrong. So wrong that Max didn’t even know where to start. But somehow, hearing a rumor of Mr. Jefferson getting involved with a student gave Max a feeling of a sudden hope, which she quickly dismissed as the thought it was wrong; really wrong under these circumstances at least, with missing person and that. Instead of dwelling on it any longer, she proceeded to water her plant, Lisa.

___oOo___ 

Max was really happy with a photo she took for her portfolio. She managed to capture an exact moment where Trevor managed to do one of those tricks on his skateboard, with Justin looking really proud of his friend, and this other guy (Max doesn’t know his name) looking really jealous, to the point where his ears went red. But of course that Victoria had a better photograph. She took a shot of a group of students enjoying a sunny day and their time off on campus, resting their heads in green grass. And of course that she received the best comments in front of the class from Mr. Jefferson. However, Mr. Jefferson asked Max to wait for a moment as she was about to leave, feeling sorry for herself. 

“Look Max, your photo was good! You managed to catch so many different emotions in a single shot, and that is a gift that a lot of people do not have. You should be proud of yourself.” He offered, not breaking the eye contact. Max didn’t feel reassured so she glanced at her shoes. 

“Max. You need to believe in yourself. You really do. I know that I do, believe in you. And you should be proud of that shot you took.” He shortly rested his palm on her shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze as an offer of encouragement. This made that weird feeling in her belly go rocket high and she didn’t manage to find any words. Noticing that Max is uncomfortable, Mr. Jefferson removed his hand, “Believe in yourself, Max. Let me help you.” He offered instead, trying to meet her eyes with his, but she wouldn’t lift her head. When she finally did, he offered her a shy smile and she returned, but left the room without saying much. 

She just felt so unsure about what was going on there, with Mr. Jefferson. And she just felt so unsure of what she was feeling. She knows that she is feeling something. Oh, who am I kidding? I would marry that guy if I could. But she knows, actually at this point- she believes that this is just silly and decides to focus on her homework. There is a lot of homework, and all of this needs to be done and submitted. 

By the end of the week Max’s scale showed 115lbs. She looked at herself in the mirror but all she could see was fat. It was confusing actually, because she could see her collarbones and chest bones now, but everything else was fat, including her face. She pinched her arm as she started to feel as she wasn’t real. Then she proceeded to grab her upper arm to see how far are her fingers from touching together. There must be a way I can make the weight loss go faster. Max, from tomorrow there are no lunches for you either. 500 calories, that’s that. 

___oOo___ 

It has been a couple of busy weeks for Max, with only so much food and even less sleep. But at least she got to meet some people, and she had some time to get to know some of them. Max and Kate decided to try and grab that tea next week as they both need some outlet, and they need it desperately. Max noticed that Dana got together with Trevor, which was confirmed when she saw her smuggling him in and out of her room. She was happy for Dana, she really was. Max also felt sad that she couldn’t be friends with Brooke. Brooke was polite to her, but she knew that Brooke was giving her evils from a distance, when she believed that Max couldn’t see her. 

She also spent a lot of time with Warren. He was always able to make her laugh to the point she would feel like she was suffocating. But soon enough she started to feel that maybe Warren wanted something more than just a friendship. And she doesn’t know how to feel about that so she decided to ignore it, for now at least. 

And Mr. Jefferson didn’t seem to stop Max after class too often. He would still lean on that empty desk close to her, and he would still look at Max a lot. He also reminded her at least two times that she has a gift, which would make her blush, and he would also gaze at her sometimes with those deep brown eyes, and this would make her knees weak. But as she looked particularly pale and tired today with her scale showing 110lbs, he stopped her at the end of the class. 

“You look like you could use some time off.” He noted. 

It is not something you should say to a girl Mr. Jefferson – she thought to herself, blushing. “Yes, I had a rough couple of weeks…” she said whilst holding her elbow. 

“You looked absent today. Talk to me, what’s wrong?” he persisted. 

“I just need to get some sleep, really.” She said after a moment of hesitation. “Victoria and her friends don’t really care about others.” 

“Maybe you really should take some time off. Walk down to the city, find a place to relax.” 

“I probably should do that. I could go to the lighthouse, I haven’t been there since I was a kid.” Max said more to herself, sounding distant and lost in thought. 

“Lighthouse?” Mr. Jefferson asked suddenly. 

“Yes, I used to go there all the time to get away from everyone. Kind of, like a sanctuary of a sort, I guess.” She said slightly smiling, remembering all those good days she spent up there with Chloe. Oh dang! I need to call Chloe! Like, right now! 

“That sounds interesting, amazing really. I’ve never been up there, I should check it out. I could use some alone time too.” He said considering, gazing blankly at the wall behind Max. “Maybe we-“ his phone rang, and he seemed annoyed to be interrupted more than anything. He quickly checked his phone and excused himself as it was the call he must take. 

Max knows what she just heard. He was about to suggest to go there with me. And this made her smile, and this made that feeling in her belly go wild. Its butterflies, she told herself, almost like she is finally accepting that she really likes her teacher. 

___oOo___ 

Her usual morning ritual of grabbing an early anxiety-releasing shower was interrupted by Dana who seemed to have some juicy gossip. She wanted to know what Max thought of Mr. Jefferson other than him being absolutely handsome (Dana remarked). Max kept it simple and said that he seemed cool. Dana, almost like she didn’t hear that at all, happily announced that she saw Mr. Jefferson and Nathan Prescott together yesterday, down at the center of Arcadia Bay, having lunch or something. Then she proceeded to talk about Nathan, making sure that Max knew that he is practically owning the Vortex club and his parents the city. Dana also asked Max if she heard about that missing girl Rachel, informing her that Rachel was an important member of the Vortex club too. Max didn’t care much about that, she wanted to know more about why would Mr. Jefferson take Nathan out for lunch. After all, that seemed very unprofessional to her. Dana agreed to that and said that she would try and keep her eyes open for any other similar activities. 

After being interrupted from taking a shower, Max decided to go for a run first. It seemed like a nice morning to do so. It was supposed to rain in the evening so it was definitely better to do it now. Warren tried to stop her when he saw her in front of the girl's dorm but she quickly excused herself and was on her way. After a sweaty hour later she was grabbing a warm shower (still feeling cold). Max felt extremely anxious once she was back in her room. Once again, scared and naked she almost found herself crying because she was about to step on the scale. She thought something was wrong and reckoned that a lot of people didn’t feel this way during their weight loss journey, but maybe these feelings were what was pushing her this far. She never thought that she would go under 115lbs. If nothing else, at least she was in the control. She stepped on the scale: 109.8 lbs. Max felt extremely hungry but not your usual stomach hungry. More like empty hungry. Maybe even more like emotionally hungry. She stopped feeling proper hungry some week or two ago and now the feeling felt distant and almost alien. All she cared about now was doing the best she could in the Academy and seeing the number on the scale get lower each day. And honestly, I don’t even care if I feel hungry anymore. I’m not afraid of feeling hungry. 

Following the interesting conversation she had with Dana, Max was examining Mr. Jefferson closely, or at least as close as her blushing would allow her. As he caught her gaze more often than usual, he seemed to become more and more distracted, trying to focus in order to follow his own chain of thoughts and deliver his lecture. If he would glance at her for too long she would look away, and if she would glance at him for too long, he would look away. Max kind of liked this new courage she found in herself. In the end, eye contact can’t kill, right? 

During his lecture Mr. Jefferson delivered the news that made all students excited and unsteady in their seats. The Everyday heroes contest. Wowser! This is an opportunity you don’t get every day! But her excitement and smile faded away as fast as they appeared. What in the hell should I do? And as everyone else seems to be full of questions and ideas, Max found herself looking out of the window, worried. 

At the end of the class Mr. Jefferson announced that they will be discussing this further tomorrow and that he is not answering any more questions now. And by the time everyone left Max only seemed to notice that the class was over. 

“Got any ideas, Max?” he asked from his own desk, keeping his eyes locked onto his computer screen as he was typing something. 

“I’m not sure.” She answered unsteady, trying to collect her things and put them in her bag. 

“I know that you are going to do amazing, your photos have been the most inspiring in the whole class so far.” He lifted his eyes just to meet her eyes for a moment before returning his gaze back to his computer. 

That is not how Max felt. The one who always gets the most praise in the class is Victoria. Why always Victoria if her work was as good or even better as Mr. Jefferson says? She just simply sighed and continued to collect her things, feeling maybe even more discouraged than she did a moment ago. 

“Maybe I could help you to bring out some of that inspiration. That inspiration you think you had lost and believe you can’t find?” Mr. Jefferson said sounding almost distant, this time without breaking his gaze off his monitor screen. 

Startled, blushing really hard, unsure of what the hell was that; she managed “That wouldn’t be fair, you helping me...” 

“I was not talking about taking that shot for you.” He continued typing. 

“What did you have in mind?” she asked feeling very confused, standing up from her desk and trying not to faint. 

It seemed like it took Mr. Jefferson a moment. “You know” he said and glanced up at Max “a simple walk can help. Are you sleeping any better?” 

“No, not really.” She answered, considering. 

“Then a walk is exactly what you need.” Mr. Jefferson said and slowly stood up from his desk. “What do you say?” he continued by taking a step forward, closer to her. 

After a moment of thinking, Max thought that she might be overthinking, and before she starts to overthink even more she better say “Yes.” as that is what she really wants to say. Wowser!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave comments and kudos if you like it, this is my first work so I'm a bit nervous about it, hope you are enjoying it!


	5. Chapter 5

___ 

Mr. Jefferson’s car surely is impressive. Brown leather seats that, apparently, even have their own heaters. Max looked around trying not to look too excited or curious. It’s just a car after all. 

“So, where are we going?” 

“Don’t worry about that, I got it covered.” He answered, focusing on the road, with a smile. And that made her want to smile. Just, keep it together. 

“So how do you like it so far then? The whole Blackwell Academy package?” 

“Oh, am, well it has its good sides and bad sides, like everything really. But it is nice, I like the quiet that a small place like Arcadia Bay can offer.” 

“It is definitely better than a loud, stinky city.” He agreed with a nod, which took Max by surprise. 

“Is that why you came back to Arcadia Bay?” 

“One of the reasons.” He said simply. “I prefer quiet and calm. A little piece of peace.” 

Max was glad when Mr. Jefferson stopped his car on a beach. Not a lot of people come around here at this time of the year, and she is not sure how it would look like if someone saw them together. But it looks like Mr. Jefferson kept that in his mind too. 

“I thought you could do with some fresh air.” Mr. Jefferson said looking around, feeling a slight breeze and placing his hands in his pockets. “Sun is going down, but there is still some time before the dark.” 

“Now that I’m actually here, I can see that I definitely needed some fresh air. Thank you so much for this, Mr. Jefferson!” she looked at him, feeling the emotion of gratefulness overflow her. As well as those butterflies, once he returned the polite nod. 

“Don’t mention it, I needed it too.” He waved his hand dismissively. 

They were quiet at first as they walked down the beach. Which Max didn’t mind, as she just couldn’t believe she was on a beach – with Mark Jefferson! Only, Max was feeling very cold so she crossed her arms, and a wild image of him warming her up flashed through her mind, making her feel warmer again. Mr. Jefferson seemed like he wanted to say something but instead he rubbed his neck. After another moment of silence, he asked about Victoria, and Max’s heart dropped to her heels. Did he only bring me out here to find out more about Victoria? That hurts. 

As Max didn’t answer for a moment too long, Mr. Jefferson rephrased his question: “What is she doing to keep you up at night? Don’t get me wrong, I’m just trying to collect a broader picture of what is going on at the campus.” And Max tried to keep it simple, but it wasn’t all that simple. And soon enough she found it hard to explain without complaining too much and trash-talking about Victoria and her friends. Which she doesn’t like to do, as she is not a bad person, and she definitely doesn’t want to leave an impression of being one. Mr. Jefferson kept on nodding as a sign of understanding. In the end he only asked if she had any idea of why Victoria might be acting that way, but Max had none. 

Max got tired as her feet kept on digging deep into the sand as they walked, and even Mr. Jefferson started to breathe heavily. And soon enough – “Look, there is a bench, we can take a seat, if you would like?” he asked, sounding nonchalant. 

“Huh, this reminded me why I never spent much time here.” She noted while taking a seat, “It’s impossible to walk.” 

“It’s a bit of physical exercise, you will sleep better.” He said, placing himself down on the other side of the bench. 

“So what is your dream then?” Mr. Jefferson asked after a long moment of silence, looking towards the horizon. Max got confused and only managed – Um. Mr. Jefferson continued: “So far I gathered that everyone here has a dream. And usually everyone has a dream.”. After considering her for a moment Mr. Jefferson continued “You don’t have to answer that. I was just being curious. As is my nature, I can’t help it.” 

After a brief moment of silence where Max decided that she was not feeling comfortable with bringing up her dreams and hopes, she asked: “We talked a lot about inspiration so far Mr. Jefferson. All of our inspirations in the class. But you never talked about your inspirations.” 

Mr. Jefferson repositions himself looking almost uncomfortable, this time positioning his body something closer to Max, stretching his arms over the bench, focusing his eyes on the waves, staying silent for a moment. 

“To capture a moment it the moment. Just like you. To capture the beauty, the innocence.” His thoughts seem to be distant as he looked forward. Staring at him in an awe and aware of his arm stretching on the bench right behind her, Max felt like she was losing the ground underneath her feet. 

A quiet buzz in her pocket alerted Mr. Jefferson, snapping him out of his thought. He slightly shifted in the seat and crossed his arms. Max took out her phone to see who just ruined this perfect moment. 

“Everything okay?” Mr. Jefferson asked while he quickly glanced at the time on his watch. 

“Yes, it’s fine. It’s just Warren.” Max felt annoyed, but she replied to his message anyway, so that he could stop worrying about her not being present on the campus. 

“Uh-oh, boyfriend trouble? Maybe I shouldn’t have stolen you like this.” Mr. Jefferson noticed jokingly, a wide grin on his face. 

“He is not my boyfriend.” Even more annoyed, Max slightly and carefully pushed Mr. Jefferson’s shoulder. This made her realise that she felt more relaxed next to him, but it also made her feel anxious as she wasn’t sure if she overstepped some kind of boundaries. To her surprise Mr. Jefferson laughed. She giggled softly and could feel herself relaxing once again. 

Soon enough the sun was fading into the ocean and Mr. Jefferson offered Max a ride back to the Academy. But she decided to stay instead as she really could use some more of the alone time. Mr. Jefferson insisted to take her back as he had to leave now, but Max declined politely. She thought that she was probably crazy for declining the opportunity to spend another moment with him, but she didn’t want to go back just yet. Max explained that she would take a bus. Mr. Jefferson said that he hoped that she would be able to get some rest tonight. Max thanked him once again as he left. Full of joy and all of these beautiful feelings, Max sighed and melted into the bench. She never felt this good. And, in a way, Max liked to watch Mr. Jefferson walk away. 

As she squirmed uncomfortably on the bench, she realised that playing music and lying down was a bad idea, especially if you were tired as she was. When she checked her phone, she realised that she had only another 10 minutes (at most) to catch the last bus for Blackwell Academy, so she got up and started to run. But all of that was for nothing. Max wiped the sweat off her forehead as she watched her bus drive away through black spots in her vision. 

With no other options, Max decided to walk back. Well, it takes about 15 minutes with a bus from here, so that will be about 35, maybe 40 minutes walk. But after cold started to get through her clothes, Max thought better of it - Okay, maybe 30, or even 25 minutes, as she sped up her tempo. 

Her phone buzzed as she received a text message from Kate. As she looked at her phone Max realised that she didn’t even notice previous messages from Kate, Dana and Warren. They all sounded really worried, so she informed them that everything was fine and that she was going to be there soon. “And, oh, please don’t rat me out to principal or something, I can’t deal with any troubles right now”, she begged them. 

The walk seemed to last longer than she thought, and she started to wonder if she maybe took a wrong turn (which is impossible as there is literally one road, however she wouldn’t be surprised). Max was slightly anxious, but she felt happy as long as cars passing by were ignoring her. Overall, she actually felt fine. A little cold and tired, yes, but otherwise fine. She knew that she was going to sleep like a baby tonight. 

Another car passed her by, loud music coming from open windows. Max checked her phone and it was nearing 1 AM. It was really taking her forever to get back. At the end of the corner of her eye Max noticed that this car slowed down. She looked up and the car was reversing, going backward, back towards her. Max instantly froze in her place. They will go away. She tried to reassure herself. But they didn’t. With the car now slowly approaching her, Max realised that there was no more music playing inside. Her eyes were widening out of the fear. The car has almost reached her, and lights are going out. Without a second thought, Max rushes off, running as fast as possible into the woods. She could hear laughing, and some people yelling after her, “Hey, where are you going, come back! We won’t hurt you!”. And they were running too. 

Max ran, terrified. She could hear footsteps running after her. It’s dark and she can barely see. She stretched her hands in front of her in the hope to avoid smashing into a tree. At this point she could distinguish four different voices, and she could hear them splitting up. In her panic, Max slipped with a loud “Thud”. “There she is!”, a voice that came from behind her was way too loud and way too close, making her panic even harder. Max tried to get up, tried to keep on running, but the man grabbed her ankle before she managed to start running again. Before she knew it she was back on the cold, muddy ground again. She hit her head on the hard ground, impact blinding her and making her grith her teeth in the pain. Her ears were ringing as she turned on her back trying to fight off whoever was climbing on top her, pinning her down to the ground. Max reached out to search the ground around her. The only thing that was louder than ringing in her ears was the muffled laughter from her attacker. Finally, Max found something hard on the ground, and without waiting for another moment she used it to hit the person on top of her with all her might. Whatever she was holding shattered and the loud crashing noises echoed between the trees. “You stupid bitch!” painful screams escaped the mouth of a male person as grip on her faded. She was up and running again, tears falling from her eyes uncontrollably. 

Max didn’t know how long she had been running. All she knew is that she was terrified, and that she needed to get to safety. She slipped again over a rock, tumbling all the way down, all the way down to the flat surface. It took Max a moment to gather some strength to look up. She was never this happy to be on a road. She stopped for a moment, listening, trying to catch a breath. Nothing. Max stood up taking an effort to cross the road. Suddenly, a car appeared behind the corner going straight at her. Max lifted her hands and closed her eyes. All she heard was a screeching sound tearing the air as that car hit the breaks. She fell down on her knees, crying, desperately crying. 

“What the fuck is this, what the fuck are you doing on the street in complete dark!” footsteps were approaching her fast. “I could have..” Moment of silence. “Oh my God! Max!” 

Mr. Jefferson lifted Max on her feet. She looked at him and could see that his lips were moving but she didn’t understand the word of what he was saying. It didn’t really matter what he was saying, Max only wanted to be taken away, anywhere, just far away from here. And Mr. Jefferson did just that. She found herself crying in his car, and could only hear buzzing in her ears. Not knowing what else to do Mr. Jefferson took Max in his arms, hugging her hard. Soon enough Max calmed down, wishing that he would never let go. 

“Shh, shh, everything is okay Max. Shh, you are safe now, you’re with me.” his arms wrapped around her harder. Slowly but surely Max’s breathing was becoming more normal. 

Mr. Jefferson helped her to sit down in the back seat of his car, and as he did so, he kneeled down to see her face better, keeping his hands on her shoulders. 

“Max, what happened?” he asked, looking worried sick, “Did anyone hurt you?” 

“N-no.”, she managed, breathing heavily. Only for a moment Mr. Jefferson felt slightly reviled, but not reassured. 

“Talk to me, Maxine. You are safe now, I am here.” 

“Mr. Jefferson, t-there was four of them, I-I think, and they ran after me, and I-I ran away, and he, and h-he got me, but then I got him, and then I-I got up, and then-” her eyes were watering up and her voice started to crack. Mr. Jefferson stood up to hug her again, “Shh, it’ll be okay.” and this time he didn’t let go. 

___oOo___ 

Max jerked up instantly out of what seemed like a big nothing. She looked around and it took her a moment to realise that she was in a car, Mr. Jefferson’s car, in the back seat, covered with his jacket. She tried to lift herself up, but her limbs feel so heavy, she felt so heavy, and uncomfortable headache started to set in. 

She managed to lift herself up and as she called out she found that she was alone. Her bag was on the front seat. Next to her bag there was Mr. Jefferson’s really expensive camera. She looked up searching for someone, anyone as she really didn’t want to be alone right now. Then she spotted Mr. Jefferson just out there, talking on his phone. Max felt uncomfortable, there was this dull ache in her stomach and she thought that she just might get sick, so she opened the car door and pushed her feet outside, covering her mouth with his jacket as she sat up. His smell was lingering on the jacket calming her down, instantly. This made her feel somehow safe. 

Mr. Jefferson turned around at the sound of the door. He only spared another word or two before hanging up and rushing towards her, look on his face worried and angry. 

“How are you feeling?” his voice was soft and warm, almost quiet. This was a good question. Other than feeling really heavy and stiff, Max felt a burning sensation on her knees as well as a dull ache in her right palm. When she glanced down she saw that her palm was bloody. 

“I, I don’t know.” She said. 

Mr. Jefferson sat on a ground next to her, being still and quiet for a moment, gazing to the side. “Max, you have to tell me everything that happened. Can you do that for me?”. 

Max nodded. “Okay.” She started uneasily, “Yesterday, when you left, I fell asleep. And I didn’t manage to catch the last bus for the Academy. So I thought that the best thing to do was to walk back, it was only supposed to be about 30 minute walk after all.” She stopped a moment, taking a look at him. He was looking at her, serious and worried, genuinely worried. Mr. Jefferson offered a simple nod, and Max felt safe to continue her story. “There was this car, passing by. And as it passed, it slowed down before it started going backward, towards me. And I thought that it would go away, but when lights went off, I started to run, as fast as I could. I heard four of them going after me, they split up as it was really dark. I could barely see where I was going. And they were yelling awful things.” Max stopped once again, their voices echoing in her head. Mr. Jefferson extended his hand and lowered it on hers, giving it a slight, gentle squeeze. “And I was running, until I slipped, and as I was trying to get up someone was already there. He grabbed my ankle and pulled me down. I panicked, I was trying to find anything that I could use to defend myself. He didn’t hurt me, he was just trying to hold me down. And I think that I found a bottle, because whatever I used to hit him - shattered.” 

“That would explain that cut on your palm.” Mr. Jefferson said calmly, giving Max another reassuring nod to continue her story. 

“And then he let go, and I got up and I ran. I don’t know for how long, I just ran. Until I fell down on that road. And then you came along. That is really it.” Max finished by taking a deep and heavy breath in. 

Mr. Jefferson was silent for a moment considering everything that he had just heard. “Did you see a car plate? Or what type of car it was?” 

“No, it was dark.” Max waved her head as she tried to recall. 

“How about these people, you said it was four of them? Did you recognise any of them? Or see their faces?” 

“It was dark…” 

“Voices?” 

“No… I never heard them before, I think.” 

“Do you know what was the time when it happened?” 

“Am, it was just around 1 AM.” she said as she remembered looking at her phone just before this happened. 

“Okay.” Mr. Jefferson was quiet for a moment. “Okay,” he said standing up “we are going to go and meet my friend, to report this. He is a private investigator. Although I can tell you that there is nothing he can do as you didn’t see any of them or the car. But it still needs to be reported. Come, we will grab something to eat on the way. And, Max, we will figure this out, okay. You don’t have to worry about that, I’m here.”


	6. Chapter 6

___ 

Max didn’t know this man but he seemed like a good friend of Mr. Jefferson’s. She repeated her story and he couldn’t do much about it, just as Mr. Jefferson said. He took some pictures of her palms, head and knees and informed her that this event will be hushed and that she doesn’t have to worry about this going public, unless she wanted it to go public. She refused. 

It wasn’t long until he was gone, and Mr. Jefferson kept on offering Max some food as she had barely eaten anything. "My stomach still feels funny.” she kept on saying and refusing food. 

“Did you inform principal Wells?” she asked instead. 

“No. Not about you at least. I had to excuse myself. But I think we should notify him.” 

“No.” Max refuses wrinkling her forehead. “He will call my parents.” 

“But don’t you think that your parents should know?” Mr. Jefferson considered her for a moment. 

“No. I don’t know… I mean, there is nothing anyone can do, and that includes them. They would only worry for nothing.” 

“You need all the support you can get right now, Max. And you could probably use some time to go home, get some rest.” He noted seriously. 

“I am not even going to consider that.” Max answered raising her head. “I worked so hard to get here, and this is all I ever wanted. And I’m not giving up now, not for something that might have ended up badly but didn’t. I’m not losing my year over this.” 

Mr. Jefferson’s facial expression softened. “You are a strong person, Max. Don’t ever let anyone tell you any different.” He explained whilst waving his hands. “If it’s any worth, here is my number. Whatever you need Max, and I mean anything, anything at all. You can always give me a call. Noon? Midnight? It’s not important. Whatever you need. And I expect some reports on how you are doing, on how you are handling this.” 

Max accepted his business card, once again – grateful. “Thank you so much Mr. Jefferson. And I mean it. I really mean it. For all you did for me.” She looked into his deep brown eyes, and he didn’t look away. 

“Right. Let’s patch you up.” 

As Mr. Jefferson went to find the first aid kit or something, Max actually had a chance to look around his place. When he said that they were meeting a private investigator, this was the last place she had in mind. House was of an open plan. With the kitchen being divided from the dining room by a bar and dining room was separated from the living room by a sofa. Big, open and full of light. Which was not surprising since look at the size of those windows. There was a tiny hallway connecting the front door and a staircase leading upstairs (and that’s where Mr. Jefferson went.) There was also a huge balcony/terrace type of thing that was accessible from the living room. Design was simple, modern, clean and wealthy looking. 

Max remembered that she never came home last night so she hurried to send off a few messages to Warren, Kate and Dana. She decided that she wasn’t comfortable with sharing her recent experience so instead she said that she went off to do some work in the library early this morning and was planning to go for a walk later to get some photos for her portfolio. 

It wasn’t long until Mr. Jefferson walked back down the stairs with everything he thought he needed to nurse her cuts. So he sat her on the sofa and he sat next to her. 

“This is, like, the comfiest sofa I ever sat on!” Max said excitedly, which brought a smile on Mr. Jefferson’s face. That is good, that is working. I don’t want it to be that serious anymore. 

He proceeded to clean her palm, sitting so close to her. She could smell his perfume and it kicked off that feeling straight away, making her feel better, happier. Secure. 

“Ow!” she jerked her hand slightly as it stung a bit and caught his hand with her other hand. 

“I’m sorry about that.” Mr. Jefferson stopped and looked deeply in her eyes. In the next few seconds Max could have sworn that time had stopped. They were just standing still like that, staring at each other. Max was holding her breath and could feel her ears going red. Oh the feeling in her belly. 

Phone buzzed and it broke the moment for Max. Really annoyed, she decided not to search for her phone. And by the time she looked back at Mr. Jefferson, he was back at cleaning up her cuts. 

When she was all patched up and ready to go, Mr. Jefferson offered her a drink, and she settled down for a tea. As he brought beverages over, she noticed that there weren’t any personal pictures in this house, just - art. 

Collecting every single drop of the courage she had in her, Max asked: “How come there are no pictures of your family around the house?”. Mr. Jefferson’s brows curled. He looked away for a moment, wearing unpleasant look on his face. “I’m sorry that I asked you that, Mr. Jefferson. I shouldn’t have, it really isn’t my place.” Max felt sorry and stupid for asking such a question. 

“No, it’s quite okay. You’re curious and I can’t blame you for that. Maybe even more curious than I am, and I would dare to say that I’m a very curious person.” There was another moment of silence. Max watched Mr. Jefferson’s face as he considered his next words, his brows slightly relaxing and his facial expression now looking almost sad. “I don’t wish to discuss my parents, really. Other than that, I just couldn’t find anyone fitting. Or anyone who saw me as me. People appreciated me for my name, my wealth and fame. But not for who I actually am. And art is taking a lot of time too. I always put photography before anything else. That’s how I made my name. But that is also how I pushed away all of the other opportunities.” 

Max slowly sipped her tea as Mr. Jefferson seemed to be done with sharing about his past for the moment. She wanted to stay there as long as possible, but she knew that she already brought a lot of problems to Mr. Jefferson. They were both quiet for a while so Max decided to look for her phone. She got a message from Warren and replied shortly, as she was mad at him for ruining the moment earlier. 

“Mhm, I know that look.” Mr. Jefferson passed over. “Boyfriend problems?” 

Now really annoyed, Max jerked at him “Warren is not my boyfriend.” 

After a moment of consideration, Mr. Jefferson asked, “Are you sure that he knows that?” 

This made Max feel bad. She really wanted Mr. Jefferson to know that there is no one in her life either. And as she was about to answer his question, she received another message. 

“Warren asked me to go to the cinema with him, to watch some ape movie or something.” She said while tossing her phone away. 

Mr. Jefferson was silent for a moment. “Why not?” he offered a weak smile, “Sounds like a good opportunity to take your mind off of things. A movie, a good friend, and who knows.” Mr. Jefferson smiled, but still sounded distant. 

“Maybe you’re right…” she agreed sadly. “I’m feeling really tired now...” 

“No wonder, you’ve been through a lot. Let me drive you back. You need to get as much rest as you possibly can.” 

___oOo___ 

It was already late afternoon when Max returned to her room. And her dreams were all but sweet. The best thing of all was that Victoria decided to blast music really late in the night. Max went over to knock on her door, to ask her politely to turn it down, but only got a random shriek and a door slam from her. She did not expect that. Before turning around she overheard Victoria talking about Mr. Jefferson, so she decided to stay right there just for a moment longer. She was explaining to her friends how Mr. Jefferson keeps on smiling at her and talking to her for a while after every class (and not just about the class) and that something might happen, and that this something might happen soon. This made Max feel sick. Victoria is either delusional or I am going to be sick. 

She noticed Kate passing down the hallway and decided to say hi. Kate looked really tired, making Max wonder if she sleeps at all. This made Max’s eyes water up. She offered Kate some company, explaining that she has a lot of movies and that they could watch one. Kate accepted this happily, almost as some kind of salvation, and it wasn’t long until both of them were asleep on Max’s bed. 

They didn’t sleep for long as the bed was small, but at least they slept for a while. None of them felt like going to their lectures that day, but they encouraged each other. They took their showers, got dressed, prepared their papers. Before Max joined Kate to go to their lectures, it was the time for weight in. This time Max decided not to spend any time watching herself in the mirror. She quickly undressed and stepped on the scale: 190.3 lbs. Did the weight loss slowed down or is it just me? She quickly redressed and rushed off as Kate was waiting for her in the hallway. 

First thing Max noticed in a hallway was a trio: Mr. Jefferson, Nathan Prescott and Mr. Madsen (Academy security guard?). Max didn’t know what was going on, but it seemed like Mr. Madsen reported Nathan for something. Mr. Jefferson didn’t seem to be happy at all about that and was waving his head obviously annoyed at Mr. Madsen while Nathan grinned. As Mr. Madsen stormed out angrily, Mr. Jefferson turned to Nathan. 

“What in the hell are you doing?! Did you actually think-” but this is when they noticed that they were not alone. Mr. Jefferson dismissed Nathan and offered a wide, warm smile to Max as she passed by. Her cheeks blushed instantly. However, she couldn’t help but wonder what was all of that about. 

___oOo___ 

Even though Max had plenty of nightmares, her brain managed to black out most of her traumatic memories and she was now doing her best to focus on her schoolwork and started to hand in her homework and assessments on the time. Mr. Jefferson tried to give her some space, but as he saw that Max was doing better, he started to pressure her to apply for Everyday heroes contest, reminding her that she has a gift and that her work is absolutely amazing! This made Max feel better about herself - just the idea of Mark Jefferson bugging her that much to apply meant that her work was really worth something. 

However, even though Mr. Jefferson tried to give Max some space, hi did not stop standing close to her during every lecture, and sneaking her in all of those beautiful, sexy smiles every time he would walk by. He would also toss in an occasional joke when she would enter the classroom, just quietly enough so no one else could hear it. And Max was happy and intrigued. Because, at this point; I am pretty sure that Mr. Jefferson likes me too. On the other hand, Victoria didn’t stop tossing herself in Mr. Jefferson’s arms, and worst of all, Mr. Jefferson would always smile back at Victoria too! I really hope that he is just being polite. I really do. But as there was no physical contact between the two of them and Max felt safer. Until the moment she would remember that he wouldn’t touch her in a public place either, or as the matter of fact he hasn’t really touched her that much at all. You are confusing reality and daydreams again, Max… 

At least she felt in control once her scale showed 105 lbs. That was one of her goal weights and she found herself dancing naked in her room to celebrate. She did feel weak and dizzy but it didn’t matter. This put her at BMI 17.5 which meant she was supposed to be thin but she really couldn’t see it. Her collarbones and chest bones were a lot more prominent now. She could see her ribs when she would raise her hands. She also looked pale and it was obvious that she was feeling tired (nothing that a bit of makeup can’t fix). This scared her a bit, but Max was still unsure what to think or what to do about it since the rest of her seemed fat. Yes, she maybe had a thigh gap but she was still chubby. I still have more work to do, that’s for sure – she thought to herself as she decided it was time to get dressed. Even the new clothes she brought before the beginning of the school year (the ones that were too small for her) felt slightly too big on her now. All of her clothes were too big for her, but this made her feel good about herself. 

Max decided she wanted to grab a coffee and maybe go to the library to do some studying. Anything really, just to keep her mind off of food. Maybe studying in a coffee shop could work – Max thought to herself as she didn’t want to admit that she maybe didn’t have enough energy to walk back to the library. She grabbed her step counter, journal, laptop, camera and went on her way. 

Today wasn’t as nice as most other days, it was cloudy and windy. At least there weren’t many students around and this made Max feel less anxious. She was walking fast although her knees felt weak. She was feeling very cold. It didn’t matter that she had three layers on her plus the thick jacket, she was so cold. Hot coffee will make me feel better. 

Even though she was walking fast it took her a while to get to the coffee shop. She walked in and it was finally warm. Maybe even too warm. She ordered a black coffee without sugar and sat down. She pulled out her laptop and her journal. She was hoping to find a good shot along the way but nothing interesting was happening. She opened her journal and looked into her daily intake through the last few days. They were all around 500 calories, usually less. Why aren’t I losing any faster. The thought made her sad so she turned to a new page and proceeded to write in the planned intake for today. Once she finished, she turned on her laptop. There was a reading she needed to do for her literature and photography class tomorrow. Time to get down to business. 

As Max started to feel too hot, she ended up slowly taking off layer by layer of her clothes until she was left with her T-shirt only. Finally warm. The only thing that kept on distracting her from reading was the sound of the doorbell as people walked in and out of the coffee shop. However, the person she was expecting the least to see was Mr. Jefferson. He walked in and went straight to the counter. Max shifted in her seat and thought that hiding behind her laptop was the best thing to do. As she ducked down she noticed Mr. Jefferson noticing her. 

“Hi Max!” he said surprised. 

There was nothing else to do but to sit back up and pretend that this did not happen. “Hi Mr. Jefferson!” she said back. 

Mr. Jefferson stood there for a moment and looked over her. Max felt herself blushing and thought – oh no, I’m in a T-shirt, I’m not concealed by the layers of clothes. His face went serious. He seemed like he was going to say something but changed his mind. Mr. Jefferson turned away and paid for his coffee to go. On his way out he walked past the Max's table and left a chocolate bar on it. 

Max felt an instant rush of anxiety. He knows! Omg, does he know? Does he understand what is going on with me? She couldn’t take it any longer so she pulled out her phone and texted Warren. She needed a good company to make her feel better and take her mind off of what just happened. 

She let herself spend a lot of time with Warren. He was really good at making her feel at ease, filling her hours with laughter. But he would not drop the idea of the upcoming movie release date. She started to consider it, really. She is happy around his goofy, energetic personality. But every now and then, Max would find it a bit too much. 

___oOo___ 

Shit. I did absolutely nothing about Chloe. I mean, I did have a couple of CRAZY months but that does not excuse me! Shame on you, Max! I am doing it as soon as I exit this goddamn building. 

So lost in her rumbled thoughts, Max didn’t even notice whoever she just bumped into (more like crashed into). Before she even managed to open her mouth, she heard a familiar voice. 

“Oh, there you are. I was looking for you.” 

“Sorry, Mr. Jefferson. I didn’t see you.” He smiled, and she smiled back clumsily, unprepared for this situation. “Am, sorry, you needed something?” 

“I was just thinking how beautiful day it was,” Mr. Jefferson made a notice whilst looking out front doors. “I was wondering-“ 

“TNTNTN MAXIMAL, it’s AMAZING day today! WALK.” Warren happily marched in and stopped just next to Max, with a wide grin on his face. 

Mr. Jefferson’s facial expression changed instantly. As Mr. Jefferson was crossing his arms, Max took a look at him, and then at Warren who was still just standing there with a same grin – not noticing a shift in the atmosphere; and then back at Mr. Jefferson, whose eyebrows were now twisted. 

“I don’t know, Warr, I think-“ Max started, but got interrupted. 

“Mr. Graham, you will be late for your class, and I need to talk to miss Max here about her assessment before the bell rings.”, Max looked at two of them surprised. Even more than just surprised. Warren apologised and told Max that they would talk later, and then took off for his next lecture. With nowhere else to look, Max turned back to Mr. Jefferson. He showed her a gesture to enter the empty classroom, closing the door behind himself. 

“What was I saying? Ah. Max, did you come up with any ideas for Everyday heroes contest? Everyone else submitted their photos, and there is not much time left. I would hate to see you not even trying to participate, considering your gift.” 

“Um, I am not so sure, I-“ 

“Max. This is serious.” And so is Mr. Jefferson. “This is one in a lifetime opportunity, and I can’t see a reason for you to turn it down just like that.” He took a step closer to her, not breaking his gaze. “This could be a gateway to your future as a photographer.” He took another step, unfolding his arms. Max couldn’t stop her cheeks from blushing. “This is a real-deal. Max, I can’t emphasise or stress enough on how important this is.” He put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze, without the intention of letting go. He wasn’t this close to her in a couple of weeks at least, and those butterflies felt just like they were actually trying to get out of her belly. “You have to believe in yourself. How many times do you need me to tell you, you have a gift. Use it. Look, if you need some-“ 

There are footsteps approaching the classroom and the class is about to start. Mr. Jefferson looked over at the door and slowly lowered his hand over Max’s upper arm, all the way over her lower arm, until he finally broke off the contact and slowly stepped back towards his desk, giving Max one more glance before turning down to his papers. “We will talk later.” 

Victoria was the first one to enter the room and she was not pleased to see Max alone in there with Mark (as she started to call him that recently), so she gave her an evil look and proceeded to walk up to Mr. Jefferson. 

Max found her way back to her seat, feeling confused and hot, sweaty. She knew that her face was burning up so she decided to hide it underneath her hair for some time. The whole lecture seemed more intense to Max than ever. It felt like there was not enough air, and even though Mr. Jefferson was delivering his lecture without a problem, he was standing even closer to Max (which seemed impossible). But she thought that he might have a good excuse, after all, her desk was almost in the middle of the room, surrounded by all other students. 

Max had trouble both focusing and daydreaming as Victoria kept staring at her after which she would proceed to whispered something to her friends and all of them would giggle. Max could see Mr. Jefferson noticing this behaviour at least a couple of times, but he said nothing and did nothing, just continued his lecture. Over time, Max got very annoyed at constant whispering and giggling, and felt as she was losing her temper since Mr. Jefferson did nothing about it. Victoria crossed the line when she wrote something on the paper and launched it over the room at Kate’s head. Max could feel her blood boiling. She whispered to Kate to ignore them. 

School bell rang and it was obvious to Max that class just ended but it seemed like Victoria only just started. She was throwing questions at Mr. Jefferson like never before and for the first time ever he didn’t seem to be amused. Mr. Jefferson excused himself as he needed to get ready for the meeting after class and dismissed any further questions that Victoria had prepared for him. Max wanted to talk to Mr. Jefferson about things he said before the lecture, but now was obviously not a good time. Victoria grabbed her things and threw an angry stare at Max as she was marching out of the classroom. Max stood her ground and gave Victoria annoyed glance back. She grabbed her bag too, and as Mr. Jefferson seemed busy collecting papers of his desk, she started walking away. 

“Max…” Mr. Jefferson started as she walked past him. “I was saying that it was a nice day earlier.” 

“Oh. I do remember.” Maybe Max was wrong about this not being a good time. 

“It seems like a good day to get inspired.” He noted, not breaking his gaze. Max was pretty sure what he meant, so she decided to be bold. 

“It looks like the type of the day when I would go to the lighthouse, if you still wanted to see it.” For a second Max thought that she was maybe too bold, but he proved her wrong when a wide happy grin appeared on his face. 

“That is exactly what I had In mind.”


	7. Chapter 7

___ 

It was a nice day, and it was even nicer sitting next to Mr. Jefferson underneath the lighthouse, far away from everyone and everything. And he seems to enjoy himself too, Max noted to herself. 

“I think I found some inspiration.” Mr. Jefferson said jumping off of the bench instantly, grabbing his camera. “Don’t move, face forward, yes just like that! Perfect.” Max felt weird but also intrigued as he walked behind her. She couldn’t hear much other than a few clicks, and soon enough he was sitting back next to her, showing the pictures he just took. 

“It looks… Amazing!” Max felt overwhelmed with this, and she couldn’t help but smile, and tried her best to stay calm. 

“Would you like to try? I know that this camera is much different than your polaroid camera, but you should practice your skills with all types of equipment. Actually, here you go.” Mr. Jefferson said simply, leaving his camera in her hands, making it obvious that this was not negotiable. 

Max instantly felt shaky, because help me God if I drop this! And Mr. Jefferson didn’t seem like he was willing to wait. “Just go with the flow Max. Just go for it.” 

She stood up and instantly sat back down, and Mr. Jefferson looked confused for a second. “Go to the end of the bench.” She ordered after a moment. He did it without a question. While he did so, she sat at the opposite end of the bench. It almost made her regret this choice as it was so good having him so close. “What was the stupidest idea you ever had?” She asked him. He obviously got confused for a moment. Mr. Jefferson raised his brow and averted his gaze into the distance. As memories seemed to overflow his mind, he started to smile, then grin and in the end – laugh. And Max had it all, in a few shots. 

She wouldn’t mind hearing the answer to that question, but as Mr. Jefferson realised that she was taking some photos, he got interested. “Let me see?”, but he wouldn’t wait for Max to come to him, he rather slid over the bench, all the way to her. He took camera in his hands browsing photos that Max just took. His face softened, he seemed amazed. Max was pretty sure that this was the face she had a moment ago when she saw his photos of her. 

“You are better with this moment in the moment than I am.” Mr. Jefferson admitted. “For you it comes so naturally. You just knew exactly what to say, and then you waited for it. Thank you for this, Max. This is amazing.” Mr. Jefferson said waving his camera. 

“How do you do your in the moment then?” 

“It’s complicated. I’m much more complicated, I guess. It goes with getting older. You lose that type of innocence that grants you to be this spontaneous.” 

“I would still want to know what was your stupidest idea.” Max added with a grin, and he laughed instantly, putting one of his arms over the bench. 

“You see! Like that.” He said smiling and shaking his head. “You would like to know now, wouldn’t you?” 

“Mhm.” She nodded, waiting. 

“I might tell you.” He looked at her with a wide smile. “But first, a selfie, as you kids call it.” 

“A self-portrait then, if you prefer, professor!” they both laughed and smiled for the camera. 

After another moment of laughter, silence crept in. Mr. Jefferson’s face seemed to get more serious. 

“Max, I wanted to ask you something.” he said after a moment of hesitation. 

“Yes?” Max asked and braced herself for the upcoming question. 

“Are you eating alright? It’s maybe not my place but you’re looking, well, you have lost some weight. Are you ok?” Mr. Jefferson asked looking worried. 

Dumbfounded, Max was completely unsure of what she was supposed to say. “I’m okay!” she said as quickly as she managed. “I’m often just too busy to grab something to eat, and my appetite is not the best when I’m stressed out...” she tried to get out of it. 

“I understand that.” Mr. Jefferson interrupted her. “Just to refresh your memory, give me a call if anything is up or if anything is bothering you. At midday or midnight, it doesn’t matter, just give me a call, will you?” he asked whilst looking at her. 

“I will. And thank you, Mr. Jefferson.” 

___oOo___ 

Max would feel better about herself if she just didn’t saw Victoria taking pictures, at 6 AM, ready and hunting for a perfect shot. What do I do about my entry? I just opened my eyes and she is already making art. And I am only awake because this message woke me up. I would sleep for another hour waiting for my alarm... The only thing Max cared about right now was grabbing a shower and weighting herself. 99.9 lbs. Nice. 

Warren wants to meet up after school. I need to talk to him… I really do. I’m not being fair. 

But what is fair? This troubled her mind as she watched Mr. Jefferson, who was returning the same gaze back to her. It surely is not fair that I feel this way about this man who is so much older than I am, and a man who is also my professor. It also isn’t fair that he is doing all those things and in the end – nothing. I don’t know. He just might be this way, with some people. He is a professor in the end. And I doubt that he would risk his position and reputation for some fun with a student. Afterall, all art professors are a bit crazy, so it could definitely explain why he goes for a walk or maybe even lunch with some of his students. For him it is all probably about helping us explore our artistic self in order to create better art. I think that I’m overthinking again. 

“I heard that there is going to be another nice day on a Thursday.” Mr. Jefferson told her as he apparently decided to walk next to her on his way out. 

“Yes, but tomorrow is going to be nice too.” 

“I know, but I’m busy tomorrow. I’ve got this meeting.” 

“So, Thursday? You have anything in mind?” Max asked wondering if this meeting was with Victoria, as his last meeting was actually with her. This idea made her feel sick so she shook her head like it would shake off those thoughts. 

“Indeed I do.” Mr. Jefferson smiled. “What do you say?” 

“Why not?” Max smiled at him, this time without feeling so shy and insecure. 

___ 

Max got handed in a letter from Kate. The letter was actually from Mr. Jefferson, but was placed in her hands by Kate. At Max’s confused look Kate responded by explaining that she is his assistant as he knows her money situation, so she is earning some extra by doing some simple things and running some errands for him. Max almost felt hurt when she realised that the letter read Progress Report and that everyone got one too. 

Victoria was already jumping around, screaming, constantly repeating “I told you so, I told you so!” to her friends even before Max managed to take her report out of the envelope. There was not much in the report, she was shy and was avoiding to submit her photographs which is a crucial thing for this module (Who would have guessed.). But all photographs that she submitted had overwhelmingly positive reviews, which made her feel much better. But there was something else in there, and she pulled out a photo. A photo of her sitting on a bench underneath a lighthouse. I think that no one else got this in their report. Max lied down on her bed, observing photo closely with dreamy eyes. 

___oOo___ 

Max almost felt rested when she woke up. However, it wasn’t her alarm that woke her but Victoria’s laughter. It was so early that Max didn’t have enough brainpower to try and imagine what could be so funny this early in the morning. Nevertheless, she got up and prepared herself for that nice, hot shower. As she stepped out in the hallway, she could see that door to Victoria’s room was open. She expected to see the usual Victoria’s friends in there, and just as she decided to take a peek in, a pale boy with tidy brown hair appeared on the door frame. 

“What are you looking at, dumb face?” he asked as he carefully measured Max from head to toes, his brows twisting. 

“Hi, I don’t think we met before, I’m Max.” she tried offering her hand to Nathan. Max did know him from before when he run into her at the beginning of the school year and she has seen him around. He returned her a confusing look, so Max continued: “I’ve heard a lot about you, Nathan Prescott.” Really, Max just decided to be as nice as possible and hoped that she wouldn’t have any further issues with another idiot. 

“Have you now?” he asked as a twisted smile appeared on his face. “I’ve heard nothing about you, since you’re that important. I’ve only heard that your photos are shit.” Nathan laughed. 

Max felt discouraged to continue any sort of conversation with him. She was not surprised at all that Victoria would hang around with someone like that. 

“What is it Nathan?” she heard Victoria’s voice approaching. Nathan was about to close the door when Victoria appeared right next to him, tossing her hand over his shoulders. 

“What do you want, selfie face?” she grinned. Max decided to just walk away. She slowly turned in the spot and as she took her first step, Victoria continued: “And just where about do you go disappearing every now and then?” 

“What do you mean?” Max asked, stopping in her tracks. 

“Don’t think that I haven’t noticed that you are not in your room after the curfew. Where are you sneaking off to creep?” Victoria continued, now stepping out of her room to see Max better, or rather for Max to see Victoria’s evil stare better. 

“You know that boys aren’t allowed in this dorm?” Max stared back at her. 

Victoria considered this for a moment before continuing: “Fine. I won’t tell I have noticed that you’re out after the curfew if you won’t tell that I have a friend coming over. But don’t think that I don’t know that you’re up to something. And I swear to you, whatever it is, I’ll find out.” 

Before Max could answer, Victoria quickly turned around on her heels and slammed her door. Max couldn’t do anything else but to try to shrug that conversation off, at least until she reaches the shower room. As she continued down the hallway, she could hear Victoria’s doors opening once again. Only a moment later she could hear footsteps echoing behind her. With each step she took, Max could have sworn that footsteps behind her were getting considerably closer and louder. She turned around just in time to see Nathan Prescott reaching out and grabbing her upper arm in strong grasp. Max clenched her teeth and tried her best to muffle her own painful cries. As Nathan pulled her to the side in a small empty area in between Kate’s and Juliete’s room, Max managed: “What the hell do you think you’re –…” 

“You need to stay away from –” Nathan roared. After realising how loud he was, he took a slow, deep breath and continued: “You need to stay away from Victoria, and you definitely need to stay away from Mr. Jefferson!” he said through his teeth, just slightly more audible than a whisper. “And I swear to you, if you do anything to screw with Victoria’s opportunity to win the Heroes contest, I will bash your head in! I swear to you, whatever-your-name-is, if I see you do anything that I don’t like, I will –” Nathan stopped suddenly, shook his head and slammed his fist on the wall, letting out only one angry grunt. He let Max’s arm go, mumbled something angrily under his breath and walked away in a hurry. 

Max found herself almost crying and trying to collect her thoughts in the shower. She could now see a dark bruising coming in where Nathan gripped her arm. Once she got out, she found Dana waiting for her in front of her room. Max looked at her curiously as she was approaching her, but Dana only offered a worried glance back. 

Day started weird enough with whatever happened with Victoria and Nathan. What the hell is wrong with those people? Especially Nathan, he looks sick and acts so troubled. And what did he mean, to stay away from Victoria? She is the one who can’t drop my case! And what about Mr. Jefferson? Is this because Victoria has a hardcore crush on him? Bah! But now, everyone has been losing their shit over a video starring Kate Marsh. What could Kate possibly do to get this much attention? Max didn’t know and didn’t want to watch the video before talking to Kate. Look at her. She looks so tired, so sad. Her eyes are so puffy. She must have been crying. Max looked up to scan the situation. Mr. Jefferson seemed occupied by explaining a couple of terms to Daniel who seemed to be utterly confused. I’ll send her a note, so she doesn’t run off after the class, as she always does. Simple – wait up for me after! – will do. Paper is tossed. 

“Give me that.” Mr. Jefferson was angry. Oh boy he is angry. He stormed towards Kate, his hand reached out and waiting. “What can possibly be so important that you girls have to break one of the three rules I have?” his eyebrows curled. 

Max was blushing really hard, and Kate looked confused as much as scared. No one ever saw Mr. Jefferson that angry before. 

“Is this it?” Mr. Jefferson turned to Max waving a piece of paper as soon as he took a glance at it. “Is this what is so important?” 

“I am so sorry.” Max managed, now holding both of her elbows, staring at his shoes as his eyes seemed way too scary for her to look at right now. 

“My office. After class.” Mr. Jefferson said as he rushed back toward his desk and slammed the paper down. 

And once again the class was over sooner than Max wanted and everyone was out faster than she hoped. Mr. Jefferson, once again, was waiting for her at the top of the class. Only, this time he was angry. “You know the way.” Mr. Jefferson said as he motioned to the hallway. 

Max did know the way so she started to walk there, slowly, looking down her shoes sheepishly. As soon as she set her foot in the hallway, she felt someone’s body wrapping around her as someone hugged her. She looked up startled only to see Warren. She put her hands around him too, as she felt like she needed any type of comfort she could get right now, right now before the storm. But Mr. Jefferson broke it off, even angrier now, this time taking the lead to his office. 

___ 

“Why do you do this Max?” Mr. Jefferson crossed his arms annoyed. “We talked about this before. I did let you off for that phone thing. Is this how you get me back?” his eyebrows curving even more. “It is not like I ask for much! I just wanted you to concentrate. To pay some attention!” his voice was rising and Max felt intimidated and ashamed. “Just a tiny bit of attention! And I know this is hard for you so I decided not to bug you much about it, but: you will NOT. You will not distract the rest of my class!” he took a few steps towards her, opening his arms, making it so hard to Max to look away now. “All I deserve is a little respect! Some f- respect! Don’t you think?! Don’t you think?!” he was even closer now and Max could see all wrinkles that anger painted across his face. She felt like she might start to cry. She bit down on her lip. 

Mr. Jefferson stared at her for a while, really annoyed and angry. This level of anger is not what Max expected and this terrified her. She never saw his eyes so cloudy, dark from rage. “I’m asking for some respect. I know that I deserve at least that much.” Mr. Jefferson said standing so close to her that she could feel the warmth of his body and smell his perfume. “You know what? Just go! You’re dismissed! Go, your boyfriend is waiting for you.” He showed her to the door. Max was not able to argue, actually she was not even able to look him in the eye – even less able to say something, so instead she walked out, with each step walking faster. She ran when he slammed his office door behind her. 

This couldn’t have happened just because of one paper note. No freaking way! No one gets that angry because of that. No freaking way. 

___ 

Warren was indeed waiting for her. He didn’t care that Max wasn’t in the mood. He had a plan and he was going to do it, even if he had to bug her into the right mood for it. So this is what he did. Max got startled and couldn’t believe her eyes when Warren leaned in for a kiss once she took a moment to catch some breath from laughing. She was so surprised that she didn’t even blink. As she stood there, frozen in disbelief, she saw a familiar car passing by, slowing down only slightly for a moment before racing on. 

“What are you doing?” Max asked loudly when she managed to pull herself back together. 

“I thought that…?” 

“No, Warren. No!” 

“Wow, am, wow…” Warren said looking hurt and confused, rubbing his neck. “I thought that-“ 

“No, Warren. I am so sorry! I wanted to talk to you before this happened, but I couldn’t catch a break from laughing…” 

“So it’s my fault to make you laugh so hard that you can’t talk?” Warren almost sounded angry. 

“No, Warren, please wait. Listen. You are the best friend I have here, okay? And I don’t want to lose that, I don’t. I don’t trust anyone as much as I trust you. I just don’t feel any chemistry, but I respect you and love hanging out with you, I almost feel like you’re my brother. I am sorry.” 

“Am, okay, am, wow. At least you are being direct? I guess? Am…” 

“Don’t hate me, please…” her eyes were tearing up, How stupid can I be? You’re fucking everything up royally, Max! 

Max was lucky when Warren decided that he didn’t hate her. He likes her too much for that. And Max is not only one laughing like crazy when they are together. He doesn’t want to lose that either. So he guessed that he could settle down for friendship. 

Kate apologised to Max for getting her into trouble with Mr. Jefferson, so Max had to explain that it was definitely not her fault and reminded her that she still wanted to talk to her. Kate didn’t seem to be in a mood right now but Max wouldn’t have it that way. She invited herself to Kate’s room. It took her a while to get Kate talking, mostly because of Kate’s tears. Max was worried sick. Kate told her about going to the Vortex club party and that she believes that she was drugged for she would never do what Kate in that video did. She only had a sip of wine. Things went even worse from there as Nathan offered to take Kate to ER but she ended up waking in some dark room and she doesn’t remember much. Max wanted her to go to the police, offering to accompany her. But Kate refused. 

“Prescott family owns the town, which means they own the police too. Nothing happened to me while I was out, I’m sure of that.” 

Max felt unsure about everything she just heard so she begged Kate to go and grab the tea on Saturday. She felt like she needed more information and like Kate needed a friend to share this experience with properly, once she starts feeling somewhat more relaxed. Nothing better than a warm cup of tea and a good friend to share your troubles with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is how far I've gotten so far, so I will do my best to update chapters every 2 weeks from now on, hope you enjoyed :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know I said two weeks but I had plenty of time to work on the next chapter so I am posting it now. It might take me some more time for the next one though. 
> 
> *We should be about halfway through the storyline at this point. Let’s get serious now :) And thank you for sticking around for this long, English is obviously not my first language (sorry)

___oOo___ 

Max was feeling deeply hurt today. So hurt that her chest was aching. It was Mr. Jefferson’s class like any other before. Just this time he was leaning on his own desk. This time he was avoiding Max. He didn’t even look at her for the whole duration of the lecture. Is it possible that I pissed him off this much? She couldn’t take her eyes off of him, hoping that this would somehow make him look at her. But it didn’t. Her lower lip was shaking, how could she fuck this up so hard? I am going to walk straight to him after the class and apologise. I don’t care if my whole face goes red, I’m apologising. I can’t take this anymore! 

Loud ring announced the end of the lecture. Max didn’t move a muscle as she waited for everyone to pack up their things and leave. 

It was only her and Victoria left now. As Victoria approached Mr. Jefferson, Max started to collect her things. She knew that Victoria obviously wouldn’t leave her and Mr. Jefferson alone in the room, and for that matter she would use any last moment she has to chat with him. Max slowed down her packing up to give Victoria as much time as possible, hoping it would start to bore Mr. Jefferson. After a while she walked up to them and coughed to catch their attention. 

Victoria turned around and annoyedly said: “Excuse us! But-“ 

“No, Victoria. Excuse US.” Mr. Jefferson said matter of factly, sounding very serious and stern. Both Victoria and Max opened their mouth a bit in surprise before gathering their thoughts. Victoria only shoot Max an ugly look before retreating out of the classroom. 

“Yes?” Mr. Jefferson asked when Victoria exited the classroom. 

“Mr. Jefferson, do you have a moment to talk?”. Max asked sheepishly. 

“Not now Max. I’m busy.” Mr. Jefferson said in a cold voice whilst sitting back at his desk and fixing his glance on some papers. 

This discouraged Max greatly. She stood there for another second before she proceeded to exit the room, staring at her feet. I’ll just go to my room and cry. He couldn’t even look at me properly. A single tear almost escaped her eye. 

Actually no, I can’t let it continue like this! Max stopped in her track and turned around to face Mr. Jefferson: “I am sorry, okay? I really am. For not paying attention, and for reading that one text message and for throwing that one paper. I am truly sorry!” she said feeling anxious, but she was not done. This peaked Mr. Jefferson’s interest and he was looking at her now. It was now or never: “But why were you so angry with me? Why are you still so angry with me? Just because of one piece of paper? I don’t think so. Please, tell me what did I do wrong, Mr. Jefferson?”. She could feel her lower lip shaking as her whole face went warm. Max blinked in hope to shoo off water from her eyes. 

Mr. Jefferson sighed deeply and said: “You maybe take me for a fool, but you can’t keep on lying to me.” 

Max brows curled in confusion as she did not expect to hear what just came out of Mr. Jefferson’s mouth: “Sorry?” 

Mr. Jefferson’s gaze was piercing through her now. He stood up only to lean on his desk: “You can’t   
keep on saying that Warren is not your boyfriend.” 

“Warr is not my boyfriend.” Max started, feeling angry and annoyed now. “I see him only as a friend and he now knows that.” Mr. Jefferson frowned. “Why would you even care about that?” Max continued.” It’s not even your place!”. 

In a moment he pushed himself of off his desk and walked over the classroom, placing himself right in front of her. Feeling intimidated, Max took a step back. He took another step forward and she took another step back. Mr. Jefferson raised his arm slowly moving it above Max. She could smell his cologne now. Max saw him moving his arm slightly and she heard the door closing behind her (Max didn’t notice that she moved that far back). 

However, once the door was closed, Mr. Jefferson didn’t move his arm away. Max was now between him and the door, only able to take another step backward and to lean against the door. He slowly leaned towards her. She could feel his breath on her neck now, feeling chills all over her body. Whatever was happening, Max didn’t want it to stop. Her cheeks were blushing hard and she didn’t care. 

“I care about that…” his voice was only slightly higher than a whisper “…because if he is kissing you…” he placed his other arm on the other side of Max, now caging her completely “…then…” 

“Then what?” Max gulped, feeling the heat of his body on her own, knowing that she cannot (and couldn’t) move at all. 

“Then I can’t do this.” Mr. Jefferson leaned in, pressing his lips on hers. Max never felt this way before in her entire life. His lips were soft, breath unsteady, his body heat made her feel like she could actually melt. She closed her eyes, feeling as she was flying over the clouds at this moment that seemed to last forever. 

He pressed his forehead onto hers, taking a moment to catch his breath. 

“We should go.” Mr. Jefferson whispered. “We don’t want to get caught by Madsen.” Max nodded, still unable to catch her breath, feeling shaky and unstable on her feet. 

“Sweet, sweet Max.” He whispered before he stepped away. 

___oOo___ 

Holy fuck. It happened. It actually happened. Holy fuck. Max couldn’t believe the recent event she has been through. She could not fucking believe it. She was gliding above the clouds. It was a sleepless night for Max, but sweet night nevertheless. She couldn’t stop thinking about what happened and how this changes everything. Oh god, this changes so many things! I need to talk to him as soon as possible because I will lose my mind if we have to pretend nothing is happening while in the class! Luckily, he is not in today. I got to find him and talk to him before the next week. 

Max felt so confused. This is all she ever wanted, but he was her professor. He is so much older than her. But this is what she wanted from the start. She wanted this even before meeting him, and she definitely wanted this even more after meeting him. But there are so many complications… You are overthinking Max. He obviously wants this too. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have kissed you and he definitely wouldn’t have kissed you in the god damn classroom. 

So many thoughts occupied Max that she couldn’t even focus on any particular and tasty daydream while in the classroom. It all just seemed too much. Warren kept on glancing at her, but he wasn’t saying much. The atmosphere between them was somewhat awkward since he kissed her. Max honestly felt like she would go mad if she had to stay in and pretend to be interested in the lectures and pretend that everything was fine between her and Warren. The only one who picked up that something was wrong between them two was Brooke and she seemed to be satisfied. Max wasn’t surprised, she always knew that Brooke had a crush on Warren. She was just hoping that Warren would notice this and turn his attention to her instead. So much was going on through her head that Max made a decision, she was going to skip the last three lectures and run away. She needs some time to think through everything that happened recently and what it means for the future. Lighthouse was always her favourite place, a safe place. She will take a bus to the town and walk up there. The afternoon seemed nice enough. 

As soon as she sat down on the bench she knew that she made the right decision. Her head felt clearer already. Actually, her head felt empty. Max really enjoyed this and found herself feeling careless for a change. It was just her and the sunset. She had her earphones with her, but she decided that she would prefer the sounds of nature, for the moment at least. She brought her jacket too as she was not sure how long she was going to stay. 

Max sighted and took her phone out. She found Chloe’s name in there and stared at the screen. What should she even say? She has been back for way too long without letting her best childhood friend know. She has been so self-involved that she couldn’t make any time for her bestie? Shame on you Max, really, just shame on you. She thought to herself and felt a single tear escape her eye. 

“I’ve been told that you disappeared from the Academy…’” Max heard a familiar voice behind her and turned around with a soft smile on her face. “… So I thought that you could be here. I wasn’t wrong.” Mr. Jefferson returned her a smile. 

“Hi, Mr. Jefferson.” Max said, still smiling but unsure of what he was going to do next. She was kind of afraid that he was going to tell her how all of this was one big mistake and that they should forget about it. 

“Hi.” he said back. “I think we’re past Mr. Jefferson. Call me Mark when we are alone.” He said and slowly sat himself down on the other end of the bench. 

No one said a thing as they both gazed at the sunset. 

“How are you?” Mr. Jefferson asked after he decided that it was enough of silence between the two of them. 

“I am ok.” Max said considering; “Just confused I guess.” 

Mr. Jefferson looked at her. “Did I do something wrong?” He asked. 

“No, b-“ 

“Then come closer.” Mr. Jefferson interrupted her. Max looked at him slightly confused. She considered him for a moment, slightly shrugged her shoulders and slid over the bench closer to him. 

“I mean closer.” He said and moved towards her till their bodies touched. He raised his arm around her and placed his hand on her shoulder, softly squeezing it. 

Max felt happy and secure. She didn’t want the moment to end. He was right there, the sunset was beautiful. It was just perfect. She could feel the warmth of his body, she could hear his breathing. It was a shame that she had so many questions going on in her head. She couldn’t keep still or quiet for long. 

“What now?” her voice was barely anything more than a whisper. 

Mr. Jefferson was quiet for a while. He sighed before he said: “Now we keep ourselves to ourselves. Other than that, I’m not so sure yet...” After a moment of silence, he continued: “What now? Well, you could kiss me?” 

Max sat up slightly and turned herself to face him. He looked at her and smiled softly. She placed her hand on his cheek and he did the same. Max could feel how warm his hand was. He slowly closed in and their lips touched. Max was sure that he didn’t want the moment to end either. She felt so secure and warm in his arms. She never felt this with anyone else before. Butterflies in her tummy went wild and she was sure she was okay with this. She was ready to surrender herself to Mark Jefferson. 

___ 

It wasn’t long before dark set in. Max and Mark sat there in one big hug, silently watching the remaining of the sunshine behind the hills. It was getting cold but Max didn’t want to break the hug, after all it was warmer that way. Her stomach made a noise. 

“Oho, someone is hungry!” Mark said with a giggle. 

“I’m not that hungry!” Max tried to say as her stomach grumbled again. 

After he finished laughing, he said: “Well, I know for sure now that you could use something to eat, and I’m absolutely starving too! I could cook us some dinner, what do you say?” 

This evening was getting better and better, and before overthinking any further, Max agreed. 

This was her second time being at his house. He led her to the living room and motioned for her to sit at the kitchen island. 

“What would you like to drink? I will have some whiskey.” He said, looking at her expectantly. 

“Can I have a cup of tea, please?” 

“Of course, but are you sure?” he asked, his brow raising. 

Max considered for a moment, noticing Mark’s expensive camera next to his TV, before she replied sounding distant and lost in thought: “I might have some whiskey with you after dinner.” 

Mark pulled out some veggies and proceeded to expertly make noodles whilst they chatted about the latest happenings at the Academy. They ended up gossiping about some people and laughing. It wasn’t long until dinner was ready and Max felt slightly anxious, but not nearly as much as she expected. 

Dinner was nice enough and Max felt grateful. Yes, she was anxious about it, but she hasn’t eaten all day. And it was mostly vegetables so it couldn’t be too caloric. She found it hard to believe that all of this was happening, but she was sure happy it was. 

As they finished, Max offered to take the dishes back to the kitchen. 

“No, no, you should sit and relax!” Mark protested, but as Max kept on insisting, he just giggled and allowed her to do so. 

Max was piling the dishes in the sink when all of a sudden, she could feel Mark’s warm arms and body hugging her from the back. She let go of the dishes and put her arms around his which were now tightly pressed around her waist. She leaned her head back on his shoulder and looked at him. He gazed deeply into her eyes and she could feel her knees giving out. He gave her a small but ever so sweet kiss before returning to gaze at her eyes. Max smiled and so did he, but his face soon turned serious. 

“What is it?” Max asked, sounding slightly worried. 

He was silent for another moment. “Did anyone ever tell you how beautiful you are?” he asked, smiling broadly. 

Max laughed and blushed: “No, not really.” 

“Well you are, and don’t let anyone else to tell you anything different.” He gave her another kiss, this time longer and deeper. From there his lips moved over her cheek, to hear earlobe. “You are amazing.” he whispered in hear ear. Max got flushed by goosebumps as his breath tickled her neck. Mark’s lips proceeded to slowly and carefully kiss her neck whilst he pressed his body to hers harder. Max felt lost in pleasure that was streaming around her body like electricity. 

All of a sudden, he turned her around, pushed the dishes on the side, picked her up and sat her on the kitchen counter. He placed himself in between her legs and proceeded to kiss her passionately whilst his hands explored and groped her back and hips. Both of them were getting breathless, lost in the passion. 

His tongue slowly found its way to Max’s tongue and slowly and carefully started to explore her. His hands slowly started to find their way to Max’s bottom as his tongue and lips now worked their way down her neck. Max could swear that the rest of the world disappeared. She felt a bulge rising in his trousers. 

It wasn’t long until Mark pulled himself away from her trying to catch his breath. 

“What is it?” she asked. 

“Maybe we should take a break.” he sighed, his breath still shallow and fast. 

“Sure.” Max answered, trying to catch her breath. 

Mark took her by the hand and pulled her up. He slowly led her to his sofa and sat down, pulling her into his arms. His hands slowly cuddled her as she closed her eyes for a moment to take in his scent, her heart still beating fast. Max never felt this safe and secure. 

“Do you want to sleep over?” he asked after quite a bit of silence and cuddles. 

“Yeah.” Max answered yawing, “That would be great, I’m very tired.” 

“Come then, I’m quite tired too.” Mark answered, pulling her up by her hand. “Bedroom is upstairs.” 

“I don’t have any PJ’s.” Max remarked. 

“Don’t worry, I will give you one of my T-shirts.” 

And so he did, and Max felt absolutely amazing. Of course, it was super big on her, but his scent was now on her and she felt blissed. They both lied down in bed, and Mark pulled her closer to him. He laid on his back and pulled her in his arms so that her head rested on his shoulder and her arm was tossed over his torso. He gave her a soft, warm kiss on her forehead. 

“Good night sweet, sweet Maxine.” he whispered. 

“It’s Max, never Maxine.” she whispered back. 

“Can you be mine Maxine?” he asked. 

After a moment of silence, Max answered: “Sure, I could be only yours Maxine.” 

__ 

Max woke up with a bad headache and with her limbs feeling stiff. She might have even felt a bit of nauseous, but this was probably due to not eating enough or due to eating too much last night. Her stomach was small after all. And it was a quite an exciting evening to be honest, a lot happened and she never felt as happy and as secure as she did when she was with Mark. Mark, heh, she couldn’t believe that she got to call him that, that she got to kiss him, that she got to sleep in his arms. Just how lucky she was, she really couldn’t believe it. 

Only, Max was sad when she woke up to a cold and empty bed next to her. She rubbed her eyes, feeling slightly confused and sat up. Nausea quickly washed over her but faded away as quickly as it came. As she stood up, she felt as she could lose her balance. No matter that she stood up slowly and carefully. With quick and quiet steps, she proceeded to make her way downstairs. 

Mark’s camera caught her eye, it was on the random shelf in the hallway, right next to the bedroom. Odd; Max thought. 

As she approached the bottom of the stairs, she could smell eggs. Sweet smell watered her mouth making her realise just how hungry she actually was. She has been starved for a while now, but she didn’t like to admit that to herself. 

“Good morning.” She said yawning and rubbing her eyes, startling Mark who was busy walking around the kitchen and managing eggs, bacon and toast. He dropped what he was doing and quickly walked towards her, giving her a quick hug and kiss. 

“Good morning sweets.” he said, looking happy and content before quickly returning to the task at hand. “I hope you’re hungry, I’m making us breakfast. Coffee is right there (he pointed at the coffee machine) if you want some. Milk is in the fridge and sugar is there (he pointed at one of the cupboards), so feel free to help yourself!” Mark added. 

“Thank you!” Max felt grateful. She proceeded to make her coffee. “I hope you slept well, I had a good night sleep.” 

“I did indeed. I can’t remember last time I slept so well as I did the last night.” Mark answered after flipping bacon in the pan. “I’m glad you slept well.” he quickly divided eggs into the plates and added bacon and toast on the side before serving it on the kitchen island. “Come and eat it whilst it’s hot.” 

Max pulled herself out of a trance-like state as she gazed at some of Mark’s artwork displayed on his shelf. All beautiful black and white photos of girls with eyes full of wonder. Her limbs still felt stiff but it felt like coffee was helping. Her headache was slowly fading away. “Thank you so much for this, Mark.” She said feeling really grateful as her stomach rumbled with hunger. “I don’t eat meat though, so I will just skip the bacon.” She said after a moment, realising she already did this to herself once and she better keeps up with her own lie. In the end, meat has a lot of calories that she doesn’t need or want. 

“I’m sorry for putting it on your plate, I didn’t know.” 

“No, that is okay, now you know for the future.” Max was going to be honest with herself for a moment and allow herself to enjoy meatless food as it felt easier on her stomach. She preferred veggies anyway, but she did need some extra protein for her running, which she was hoping she could do tonight. 

“I will remember.” Mark said whilst digging into his own plate. “Camon, hurry up, you will be late for your lectures. I will give you a ride there and then I could pick you up in the evening if you would like to come over for dinner again?” He asked looking hopeful. 

“Aw that’s okay. I will grab a bus. Probably better that no one sees us together. I still have some time and the library is on the way so I can grab some books whilst I’m at it. But I would love to come over again tonight.” 

“Are you sure you want to take a bus?” Mark asked, his brows rising. 

“Yes, I’m sure.” Max answered simply. She really didn’t want to be seen with Mark this early in the morning and even less in his car. Especially with a bunch of students being around and getting ready for their lectures. 

“What time should I pick you up tonight?” 

After a moment of thinking, Max said: “When I think better about it, I have some homework and your assignment to do. It’s Friday today, should we maybe meet up on Saturday evening? So that I have time to work on my schoolwork.” she said. “And your assignment?” she added, looking at him with annoyed twitching in her brows. 

Mark chuckled: “Of course, you take your time and just let me know when I can come and pick you up. I will drop you a message tonight though, I have a feeling that I will miss being around you. And yes, you better do that assignment and you better do it well, it carries a lot of marks for this year” 

“Aw.” Max smiled and Mark leaned in for a kiss. “And yes, I will do my best on your assignment! Okay then, it’s time for me to go now.” Max said before getting up to get re-dressed and to collect her things. 

“I will see you later.” she said approaching the front door. 

“Wait!” Mark yelled behind her. It made her stop in her tracks and turn around because she thought something might have had happened. Mark almost run over to her side, pulled her in his arms and gave her a long and deep kiss: “I will miss you sweet, sweet Maxine.” 

“Just your Maxine.” Max smiled. 

“Just mine, sweet Maxine.” He repeated and kissed her again. 

___

Max found herself walking down the street and quite enjoying the soft sunshine on her skin. She was glad she decided to take a bus because of the nice walk during the nice weather. She would have preferred if Mark could have given her a lift with his car, but it was better not to risk it. Better not to risk it at all. 

Just as she was passing down a small shop near Mark’s house, something drew her attention. On the other side of the road stood Nathan. He stood still, his body turned toward Max, looking angry and tense. Max looked at him confused, but he glanced at her and then at the direction that she came from and back at her. Max turned her look on the side because she didn’t want this to ruin her day. Oh shoot, she thought, I might be in trouble. What if Nathan decides to share this with someone? Especially if he decides to share this with Victoria. She can’t drop Max’s case anyway, imagine if she saw what Nathan just saw or if she heard the story from him. Hopefully not. 

It didn’t take her long to grab her books for her literature classes from the library and to get to the academy with a bus. Yes, this time with a bus and not on foot. Max remembered what happened last time with a nasty feeling in her stomach. The whole thing gave her another headache, just after the first one has passed. 

It wasn’t long until she was back in the girl’s dorm and she quickly jumped into the shower. She wanted to weight herself but decided not to after she almost had a panic attack when she tried. She placed her weighting scale back in her wardrobe drawer and decide to leave it for another day, when, for example, she won’t end up with a panic attack. 

The day was long and boring aside from seeing Warren, Kate and Dana. Warren could always make her laugh and it seemed as everything was back on track in between them. He once again reminded her of the movie premiere coming out the next week and to really think about to going out with him, as friends. Max promised that she will keep it in mind and will let him know as soon as she checks her obligations for the week. She would like to go and see the movie with Warren, but she would also like to spend every wake and free moment with Mark. 

Max felt angry at herself for not having that tea with Kate just yet. She wished she could fast forward the time until their agreed meeting or back the time up to agree on their meeting sooner. She was really getting worried as Kate appeared to be in a worse state day by day and Max couldn’t do much until she hears a full story of what has happened. She also doesn’t want to invade her privacy but she also doesn’t want to be a shitty friend. Hopefully, Kate would manage for a bit longer before they can go and grab that tea downtown. 

Dana informed Max that she thought something fishy was happening between Nathan and Mr. Jefferson. As in, they seemed too close. Rather, Nathan seemed to want to be much closer to Mr. Jefferson whilst Mr. Jefferson seemed to be too aloof, almost forced-distanced from Nathan when anyone is around. “Something is fishy.” She said. 

Evening came faster than she realised so she grabbed her new headphones to listen to her favourite music and went for her run. She didn’t go for one in a few days so she got winded quicker than usual. This made her a bit angry with herself and she promised that she will have to push herself a bit harder in upcoming days. 

What ruined her day was bumping into Nathan. Well, Max tried to go around him but he went around her just in the way to catch her and crash into her. “We need to talk.” he hissed, just slightly above the sound of whisper. 

“We have nothing to talk about.” Max said feeling both anxious and shy in his presence. “Last time we ‘spoke’ I had bruises for a week!” she exclaimed just quiet enough so no one else would hear. 

“We need to speak now.” Nathan continued to hiss. “I saw where you were. I told you to stay away from him. I’ll be keeping an eye on you and you better stay away or else.” 

“Or else what?” Max now asked sounding angry and defensive. “Or else what?” she repeated after he did not answer. She raised her eyes just enough to notice Victoria observing them from a distance, her hands placed on her hips and looking intrigued and angry. 

“Or else you will see.” He answered finally with his voice being barely louder than a whisper before turning on his heels and marching to Victoria. 

Empty threats, Max thought. The worst he could do is say that he saw her coming from that direction but she could say anything really, anything in her defense and then it would be his word against hers. Yes, he has connections but still. This is too farfetched for someone to believe it just like that. She just didn’t like the look Victoria gave her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is one shorter chapter, but I hope you'll find it tasty. Enjoy :)

___ 

Her Friday evening run felt impossible to do, she could barely keep up and couldn’t run for nearly as much as she used to be able to. She was getting winded, breathless and felt extremely faint. Her joints hurt. This made her feel scared so she went to the food shop instead of continuing her planned run. She felt very anxious when she entered the shop, but once she saw all the food anxiety got replaces by ridiculously strong need to just EAT. She didn’t even realise how starved she was. Without much thinking or without much ability to control herself, Max started piling food and snacks into her shopping cart (a lot more food than she would usually eat in a whole week). At this point her legs felt like they were going to give out so she uncontrollably grabbed one of the chocolate bars from her cart and stuffed it in her mouth, without much regard for who might see her doing so. Realisation of what she just did allowed her to regain some control. She turned around and luckily no one was about and cashier was on the other side of the shop. She promptly tossed empty chocolate wrapper behind some chips on a shelf and proceeded to pay for her food and snacks. Admittedly, she felt guilty about not paying for that chocolate as well, but she felt too anxious explaining what happened to the cashier. She completed her transaction and went towards her dorm as fast as possible. She didn’t wanted to be seen with all of this food. 

Max tried to focus on her homework but she eventually gave in to her temptation and found herself uncontrollably eating uncomfortable amounts of food. Her stomach hurt so bad and she felt so guilty. But when she remembered how faint and weak she felt, she tried to convince herself that this would help her gain some of her long lost energy back (and maybe boost her metabolism a bit). Max didn’t sleep all that well after that, her tummy ached too much to find a comfortable position. 

Saturday came and almost went, as it does when you get as busy with schoolwork as Max did. But she did the great majority of her work and she felt confident and happy, and most of all, ready to relax. She picked her phone and typed a message to Mark. It wasn’t long before she met him a few blocks away from Academy and before they shared a kiss. 

“How were your last couple of days?” Mark asked, sounding curious. 

“It was okay, I managed to do a lot of work. I just had a weird conversation with Nathan Prescot.” 

“Oh yes? What was that about?” 

Max spent some time explaining about weird encounters she had with him now and before, carefully choosing her words. She also included Victoria in her explanation, unsure what to think about it overall. 

“Nathan is troubled.” Mark said after some silence. “I tried to help him out but it doesn’t seem to work, rather it seems to do him worse so I’m trying to keep my distance.” He explained. And it didn’t matter any longer because now they were back at his place and dinner was served. Max thought that he outdid himself with veggie options for her and she was really grateful as she still felt starved. 

“I can’t believe you don’t have anyone.” She said after silence settled in. “You are so amazing.” She added. 

Mark chuckled but his gaze was distant and thoughtful. “As I said before, I found it hard to find someone to like me for me, not my wealth. And you seem to like me for me.” 

“We still haven’t talked about this.” Max said. 

“About what?” 

“About what we have going on? You know? The whole you are my professor and we’re kissing and slept in the same bed thing?” 

“There isn’t much to talk about.” Mark said now sounding really lost in his thought. 

“I think there is. Please say something at least. What is going through your head right now?” Max asked almost pleading. 

“Okay, well, I’m your professor. I never thought I would end up liking my student, ever. But I did. From the moment you walked into my classroom. I just thought there was something about you. And you kept on surprising me, you kept on impressing me, you kept on being so cute and sweet and innocent, I just fell for you. I didn’t do it on purpose and I never would. What else do you want me to say?” he said, now almost breathless. 

Max considered for a moment. She hasn’t said much at the start because she had to think it through: “You are right I guess. I mean, I believe you. I think I just needed to hear it to confirm what was in my mind and to see what was reality. I thought it would be something like that, but, aw, did you really think all of that about me? She asked, feeling like she could melt after receiving all the praise from him. 

“Yes, I really did, and now I think even more of you. The more I get to know you, the more I think of how wonderful you are, in all ways.” he said now picking up the dishes. He stopped quickly to give Max a kiss on her cheek. Kiss trailed away and slowly ended up on her lips. 

___

After dinner they decided to watch a movie and Max noticed his expensive camera placed right next to the TV. Soon they found themselves cuddling on a sofa as a movie played. It wasn’t long before they lost interest in the movie and found interest in each other. 

Max found herself sitting on top of Mark, with both legs on side of his hips and with him in the middle. He softly kissed her lips whilst his hands grasped her back and bottom. It was so hot, Max thought. She started to lose herself to the world once again. It was easy to get lost in Mark’s arms, the whole world just faded away. 

His lips soon found her neck and earlobes, his tongue slowly tracing down her neck, leaving soft kisses. Max found herself groping his body too, she couldn’t help herself. She found herself doing the same to him as he did to her, and gosh did he taste sweet. 

Soon Max could feel a bulge rising in Mark’s trousers. He sighed and his face turned serious. 

“What is it?” she asked. 

“Maybe we should take a break.” he sighed, his breath still shallow and fast. 

“I don’t want you to stop.” Max said, blushing as she never did anything like this before. But she knew what she wanted. And if she ever felt safe next to anyone it was next to him. 

He considered her for a moment and smiled. “Are you sure? Maybe it’s not such a good idea...” 

“I’m a consenting adult. There is nothing more or less to it. Unless maybe you don’t want to do this...” she was surprised at the new courage she found in herself and that all of this didn’t make her blush too hard. 

Mark cupped her cheeks with his hands and gently kissed her. She cupped his hands with her own and looked deep into his dreamy brown eyes. “I want this. I want this with you and no one else.” Her voice was almost a whisper. He smiled and kissed her again, then he took her by the hand and pulled her into his arms. 

He found it very easy to carry her since how small she was in comparison to him. He slowly carried her towards the stairs leading to his room. He put her down once they were at the bottom of the stairs and took her hand, slowly leading her towards his room. Once they were inside his room, he embraced her into a deep hug. 

His hands wandered down her back towards her bottom, slowly groping her and touching every inch of her body, exploring. Max released a slow and quiet moan which made a small moan escape Mark’s breath too. 

“I care for you deeply.” he said sounding serious and stepping slightly away from her, looking deep into her eyes. Then he proceeded to take off her shirt, ever so slowly, his eyes glowing with passion and curiosity. 

As Max’s shirt hit the floor, he stepped up back to her and placed his hands below her breasts. 

“We should put more meat on you!” he said sounding amused and giggled. 

“Stop it!” Max pushed him away playfully and found herself laughing too. She did feel anxious about the whole situation, after all it was her first time and she was quite insecure about her looks. But as he made it sound playful, she started to feel playful herself, and anxiety almost somehow slowly melted away. 

He caught her hand and pulled her toward himself, giving her a deep kiss. His hands slowly started to unbutton his shirt and Max found the courage to help him out. Her hands shook slightly and he whispered: “It’s okay.”, his breath tickling her neck once again. 

As his shirt fell on the floor, Max stopped for a moment to take a look at him. God, was he handsome. She slowly traced his collarbones with her fingers. He just stood there, observing her with a serious and almost sad look on his face. She glanced at him and smiled and he returned the smile. 

“Are you sure?” he asked once again. 

“Shut up and kiss me.” she said, sounding almost demanding. 

And he did. In their kiss, he slowly started pushing her towards the bed, all the way until Max tripped over his feet and landed on her back in between soft pillows. He positioned himself over her and gave her another kiss. His hand ventured in between her knees and pushed them apart. He laid on top of her, still kissing her with his hand now slowly taking off her bra. 

As the bra was now tossed somewhere on the side, his hands slowly groped her breasts. Max found herself softly moaning as she couldn’t help herself. Pleasure circulated all around her body and she found herself closing her eyes. 

Mark slowly moved his other hand down her leg, slowly approaching her belt. He expertly and quickly pulled down her trousers which also ended up tossed somewhere on the side. He was now kneeling above Max, watching her closely as her cheeks blushed and her eyes dreamily opened and closed, her breath shallow and quick (just as his own). She pulled her knees back together, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. Mark smiled at this and laid back on top of her, giving her another kiss. 

“It’s okay, try and relax. I’ll guide you.” he said almost as he knew what was going through her mind. So she did, she relaxed and kissed him back. He prompted himself up slightly to allow his hand to wander down her belly, over her inner thigh and onto her warmth. He slowly moved his fingers whilst Max started to swirl beneath him. This made him even more aroused and he had to take his trousers off as his bulge was sitting uncomfortably under his belt. Max didn’t even notice this as his hand expertly continued to circle her very aroused spot. 

Once his trousers were off, he stopped for a moment to ensure she was okay. She kept her eyes closed, still softly moaning, so he took it as a sign to continue. 

He kissed her one more time, and then his lips started to trace down her neck, down her chest and breasts (which made Max moan loudly), down her tummy all the way to her inner thigh. He was half-kneeling now at the bottom of the bed. Mark pulled her panties off. He looked at her one more time, her cheeks were still blushed and she was relaxed. His kissed her warmth and Max released a loud moan. Almost as he didn’t notice this, his tongue expertly continued to circle her spot, and as he sucked on it periodically, Max’s moaned became louder and her breath faster. He slowly inserted one of his fingers into her warmth and looked up to see her reaction. She squirmed under his touch, which made him feel good. God was she tight and wet. His fingers slowly circled around her G-spot and Max felt like she could explode with pleasure. All the way until she actually did explode with pleasure around his fingers releasing a loud moan, slowly shaking and breathing fast. 

Mark then moved back up to kiss her again. “Are you okay.” He asked, feeling very aroused at her sweet, so sweet reaction to him. Max nodded, still trying to catch her breath. “Are you ready?” he continued, “This will hurt a bit, you know?”. She nodded again, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed about the noises she made. She knew it could hurt, but she knew who she wanted to do it with, and she knew he was doing his best to make it hurt as little as possible. 

He pulled down his boxers and his length almost shocked Max. He was big, well, long rather than too thick (she hoped). Mark opened his nightstand and pulled out a lubricant, took a small amount and applied it to his length, making a couple of jerk movements as he did. Then he pushed away Max’s knees once again and laid on top of her. He took her hand in his own and intertwined their fingers. He gave her a kiss on her forehead and prompted himself up with his free hand. 

Max gritted her teeth as his length entered her warmth. Mark grunted with pleasure, but it didn’t feel as pleasurable for her yet, rather painful. She tensed up and released a painful grunt. Mark stopped and waited for a moment, not moving a single muscle. He used his free hand to wipe off the sweat of Max’s forehead. “Are you okay?” he whispered. Max nodded after a moment, uncomfortable grimace slowly melting away from her face. He decided to wait for another moment, giving her a deep kiss. 

Once he felt Max’s body relax beneath his, he slowly pulled away and pushed back in. Her legs shook a bit and she released a loud moan. She felt like she could explode with pleasure again very soon. Mark slowly found his rhythm, slowly pulling out and pushing in even slower. He grunted and moaned with pleasure at each movement as she was so small and so wet for him. Slowly but surely, he found himself losing patience but gritted his teeth to keep his tempo light, at least for now. It wasn’t long until Max screamed, climaxing and contracting hard against his length. 

This made him lose his patience, and now he found himself plowing into her harder and faster. Max cried out in pleasure, grasping his back and digging her nails in hard. He made painful grimace but it made him go harder. Now he was moaning as he couldn’t help himself and it wasn’t long until Max once again cried out in pleasure, climaxing and contracting around his length. This made him lose his mind and he pulled out, giving himself a few jerks and his juice fell on Max’s stomach. 

Mark released a loud moan and collapsed next to her. 

They both found themselves panting and trying to catch their breath for quite a while. Mark pulled Max closer to him to cuddle her, one of his hands slowly playing with her hair. 

“You ok?” he asked, still breathless. 

“I am.” she said after her quickly rising chest calmed down a bit. “And you?” 

“Mhm. That was amazing. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.” 

“It was amazing.” she said, blushing. She never felt so good in her entire life.


	10. Chapter 10

__ 

Morning came sooner than Max hoped. They fell asleep soon after, lost in their cuddles and sweet kisses. It’s just that something felt a bit off in the morning. Max woke up with Mark turned to her with his back. She slowly rolled over the bed and hugged him from behind. After he woke up a bit due to her hug, he turned around to lie on his back. They looked at each other smiling and shared a sweet, sweet kiss. 

Max noticed a bulge underneath the sheets which almost made her giggle. Mornings; she thought to herself amused. 

Mark noticed that something was up so he asked: “What?” 

“Nothing.” Max said almost giggling before pulling him closer and giving him another kiss. 

“I want you.” She whispered in his ear. A soft moan escaped Mark’s mouth after hearing her whisper and in a moment he grabbed her and turned her over, pinning her on the bed so that her back was turned to him. He laid down on her to keep her pinned down and she could feel the bulge toughening to her bottom. Mark removed her shirt as fast as he could considering that she was pinned down and tossed it on the side. In a moment his lips and tongue were exploring her back whilst his hands slowly found their way to her side breasts. She moaned in pleasure. 

He quickly grabbed her arms with his hand and placed them above her head feeling hungry for her. Whit his other hand he moved her panties on a side. He realised he barely had any patience left in him. Oh, how mad she made him go. A loud moan escaped Max’s mouth as panties rubbed her now very aroused button. She was wet. He slowly slid his finger in her wetness. She moaned louder, and as his finger quickly started to expertly move in circles making her moan even louder. This made a growl escape Mark’s breath as he quickly took off his boxers and threw them on the side. 

He placed himself back above her and slowly, painfully slowly slid his length in her warmth. Max shivered, reaching her climax straight away and constricting around him made him go crazy and even hungrier for her. 

Even though he felt like he could lose his mind, he slowly backed out and pushed just the tip back in, then he took it out completely and once all over again he entered her warmth painfully slowly. Max screamed in pleasure, and he grunted. It wasn’t long until he found a quick rhythm of going in and out and Max thought she could lose herself. This position was amazing and it didn’t hurt at all. Soon enough he was plowing her from behind, going strong and fast with loud groans echoing around the room. Once again, they were lost to space and time. 

It wasn’t long until Max reached her climax again with his strong body pinning her down, and this made him lose his mind and he almost released his juice inside her (oh how he wanted to do that) but managed to pull out and release it onto her bottom. Mark collapsed next to her and pulled her in a big, strong hug, both still panting hard, trying to catch their breath. 

__ 

Lunch was nice enough, Mark made sure to have enough veggies available for Max to choose from in his fridge. They giggled and just enjoyed themselves. He remembered. Wholesome; Max thought, her heart feeling warm. Only, they got into a small argument around the Everyday Heroes Contest, and max was angry that he brought it up. Like she didn’t know it was coming up and she was yet to apply. She had an idea but Mark didn’t want to hear about it, he rather wanted to see the results and her applying photo once it was ready. This brought their day to a standstill in a way, and soon Mark was standing quietly, gazing at his art, lost in the thought. 

Max approached him and hugged him from behind, but he did not return the hug. She decided that she wasn’t going to dwell on this, I mean, they both just had their first argument after tiring and hot morning (and evening). He did turn around eventually and gave her a long thoughtful gaze, his eyes and thoughts seemed distant. He cupped her cheeks with his warm hands. 

“What?” Max asked after some time. 

“Nothing”. Mark replied after some silence. But his gaze didn’t change. 

“Okay, something is up.” Max exclaimed after another moment. “Talk to me, please?” she sat on the sofa and crossed her legs facing him. 

He walked up and sat at the other end of the sofa. After a moment of silence, he sighed and said: “Maybe I was too rash with you.” 

“We already spoke about this. I told you I wanted it and I wanted it with you. And unless you did not want it, there were no issues. I had an amazing time with you, and I hope for more amazing nights with you!” Max said feeling frustrated and almost sad. 

He exhaled loudly and remained silent for another moment. “I don’t know, I think we shouldn’t have done it, at least not this fast.” Max’s face turned slightly angry and worried after hearing this, her cheeks slowly beaming. “I mean,” Mark continued, “you’re so young, I almost feel like I have used you. As your professor, I really shouldn’t have had put you in this position or in this whole situation. Maybe it’s a mistake...” he said sounding very distant, now his back partially turned to Max as he struggled to face her. 

She didn’t know what to say, or to do in that matter. She just stood up and quickly grabbed her things whilst her eyes watered up. How could have I been so stupid, I knew about this, these were my thoughts exactly. Why am I even surprised; Max thought to herself, now her tears really came up her eyes, ready to fall; I knew he had the same thoughts as I did, so I really shouldn’t be surprised that he is starting to feel this way. But gosh, it hurts so much! I thought we really had something serious after everything we’ve been through, especially after we have slept together! 

“Hey wait!” Mark pleaded after her. But she was already fully clothed and was angrily and shakily bolting for the door. 

“Wait!” He pleaded again, but now already crying - Max couldn’t stop. She had to get away. She had to be on her own, she had to think about all of this and figure out what to do and what to say to him. It was better that she run away; that’s all I’m good at, hiding. 

Max basically run out of his house with tears streaming down her face. He exclaimed something after her again, but Max was too hurt to understand or to be able to process his words that now seemed almost empty and shallow. She continued running down the street and she almost missed noticing Nathan at the same place as the last time, observing her. She proceeded to run into a slightly hidden park where she sat down on a lonely bench for a moment. Her thoughts felt so distant and too confusing for her to be able to figure something out. Almost like her brain was running through everything that happened, all the feelings and thoughts at the same time but Max couldn’t hear what her brain was buzzing about. It just felt like she was disconnected from her own thoughts and soon after her feelings too. She found herself sitting there, staring at the distance and just feeling completely and painfully empty. 

Her phone buzzed bringing her back to reality after who knows how long. She sighed before deciding to check her phone. She noticed two missed calls from Mark (or should it be Mr. Jefferson now again?) and a few messages from him too. The new message that brought her back to the present was from Warren and he wanted to meet up. Sure; she thought, she could use some company to get everything out of her head. She was a mess, and Warren was one of her closest friends. If she couldn’t find some peace with him, she definitely couldn’t find it on her own. Max sent him a message saying that they would meet up tonight as she still felt that she needed some time to try and clear her head. She decided to ignore Mark’s or Mr. Jefferson’s messages and missed calls for now. She was still not ready to talk to him or to face him, as she could barely face herself and her own feelings and thoughts. 

Suddenly, Max remembered that she was supposed to meet up with Kate. She quickly checked the time and sighed with relief when she realised that she still had an hour until their supposed meeting. She promptly dropped her a message, asking if their deal was still on and received an instant reply from Kate confirming their meet up. Max explained that she was already downtown and can be in front of the tea place whenever Kate felt ready and whenever she could come along. Kate shortly answered and said that she was on her way: ”See you in 30ish minutes!”. 

Max felt grateful for this meetup, she finally could check on Kate and talk to her about everything, and later on she would meet up with Warren. Nothing better but to have distractions for the rest of the day. She felt like she really needed it. And she really did look forward to seeing Kate and spending some time with Warren too, considering how busy she was with her schoolwork and that she spent almost all of her free time with Mark (or Mr. Jefferson). This thought gave her sad and uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, so she shook her head slightly to shoo off the thoughts. She stood up, fixed up her shirt and went on her way towards the Arcadia Bay tea place. 

___oOo___ 

It took her 15 minutes to arrive at the tea place. “Arcadia Teas”, ah, such an original name; Max thought to herself. Without anything else to do, she entered the Arcadia Teas and was pleasantly surprised. Even though it was a smallish shop, the whole place seemed cozy. There were a lot of plants to bring out life in such a small place. Windows were big so there was a lot of a natural light coming in. Max found a nice separated table and sat there thinking it was in a perfect position where her and Kate could chat in peace, without having to worry that someone would overhear them. The waitress came over to take Max’s order, but Max said she was waiting for a friend and asked if she could order once her friend arrived. 

Since she had some time to think about anything really, Max quickly overviewed what was going on with Kate. She has forgotten if she has even seen her smile or laugh in the past month; Kate is really sweet and nice, and even though other students make fun of her for her abstinence campaign and religious views, she is still nice to everyone. Everyone acts so immaturely although they are not high school freshmen anymore. Kate gets a lot of shit in fact, from everyone due to her religion. But she doesn’t preach to me, so I don’t care! But she has been so extra quiet and introverted in the last couple of weeks, ever since that video came out. I really wish I will be able to help her even though I can barely help myself at the moment. I really wonder if all of that bullying in combination with whatever that video is about worn her down this much. I mean, I can see how it could. I need to make more effort to talk to her more in the future too, especially after I hear everything she has to say today; Max rubbed her forehead. Doorbell announced someone entering and sure enough it was Kate. She looked around slightly confused before she noticed Max. A small smile appeared on her face for a moment before disappearing off her face. She waved to Max and made her way towards her. 

Kate indeed look tired and pale, with dark circles below her eyes. This made Max’s eyes almost tear up, she felt so close to Kate even though she felt like a shitty friend, especially lately since she was so involved in her own love drama and schoolwork. 

“Hey Kate!” she started. 

“Hi Max, sorry I am late!” 

“No need to apologise, we met up even earlier than we agreed on originally. Should we order?” Max asked, waving to capture the attention of the waitress. They quickly placed their orders, choosing teas they haven’t tried so far and both ordered a small cake to accompany it. 

“So, how have you been?” Max continued after their order has been placed and the waitress was out of the ear reach. 

“I’m trying to hold up, but I’m not going to lie to you Max, I’m not doing all that great…” Kate answered, sounding sad and even frustrated. 

“I never viewed the video everyone talked about, you know? I didn’t want to invade your privacy like the rest of those idiots. I wanted to ask you and talk to you about it.” Max said carefully, looking for any facial expressions or cues that she might be overstepping the line. 

“There isn’t too much to say. I told you I thought I was drugged, and the video shows me kissing some strangers. Absolute strangers! Can you believe that?! I would never do something like that, not even if I were drunk, and I hadn’t even had that much to drink. That Kate in the video is not me!” 

“I believe you, it doesn’t sound like something you would ever do. I will have to agree then that it had to be some drug involved since you haven’t drunk all that much, just a bit of wine. Are they still bothering you about the video?” Max asked, thinking about Victoria and her friends specifically. 

“Yes. But some days are better than the others.” After a moment of pause, Kate continued: ”Max, Nathan did something to me and I’ve noticed when he hissed at you in the hallway at the Academy. Is he giving you troubles too?” 

Max considered for a moment: “Yes, he kind of is but nothing too bad. I think he is kind of trying to bully me with empty threats, but that’s all that it is – empty threats.” 

“Try to stay away from him and Victoria and everyone alike. The whole Vortex club if possible, it’s all bunch of mean and twisted people!” Kate said looking frustrated but also worried for Max. 

“Yes, I gathered that it must be like that pretty early at the beginning of the academic year. Dana kind of warned me too. I wish you have never gone to that party!” 

“Me too.” Kate said sounding distant. 

At that point their order arrived and they sat quietly drinking their teas and slowly eating at their cakes. 

“Mmmm, this tea is sooo good! Do you want to try a sip?” Kate offered to Max. 

“Of course, my tea is nice too, give it a try, go on!” Max encouraged Kate by pushing her cup towards her. 

They exchanged their cups and tried each other’s orders. They both seemed pleasantly surprised. 

“Wished we did this earlier!” Max said, sounding almost apologetic. 

“Me too, but better now then never.” Kate offered with a big smile on her face. This made Max’s heart feel warm, she was so happy to see Kate finally genuinely smiling. 

“Anyway,” Kate continued, “My family is furious with me for what had happened and that I went to a party…” 

“Oh no, I’m so sorry!” Max said now feeling really sorry for Kate, she knew how much Kate’s family meant to hear and was well aware of their religious views and way of life; “Are they giving you a lot of trouble because of this?” 

Kate stayed silent for a moment and took another sip of her tea. “I don’t really want to talk about it, it is what it is. I’m just worried that they will try to pull me out of the Academy which I really hope won’t happen. Aside from everything that has happened and is still happening, I found a few amazing friends, with you being the closest friend I have ever had!” 

“Aw, Kate, thank you, I feel the same!” this time Max couldn’t hide a tear in her eye. “I really hope they won’t do that, I will do my best to fight for you if you really want to stay. And if not, you going away doesn’t mean we will stop being friends. Luckily there we have our phones so we can always type to each other and talk on them, and when we manage to meet up we can catch up properly!” Max offered, hoping to reassure Kate at least a little bit, and this time really meant to stay in touch with her friends. And reassurance seemed to work since it brought a smile to Kate’s face. 

“Thank you, Max. I really mean it.” After another sip of her tea, Kate continued: “Should we switch to the happier conversation now? Did you manage to read Ray Bradbury's October Country?" 

“Oh yes, and I absolutely loved it!” 

Kate and Max found happier themes to talk about and finally had time to talk about everything they promised to talk about to each other since the beginning of the year. After a while of interesting conversations and covering all of their favourite literature, Kate took a moment before asking: “And how are you Max?”, her face turning serious whilst she lowered her voice: “You have lost quite a bit of weight, are you doing okay?” 

Max felt her stomach drop to her heels. She almost choked on the last sip of her tea. 

“Erm-“ she managed in utter confusion whilst feeling her face flushing red. 

“I know it is not really my place,” Kate interrupted; “But I’m your friend, and I know something is up. I feel like you should be able to talk to me about anything and everything, like I feel like I can talk to you about absolutely anything. Please talk to me?” 

Max sighed and put her teacup back down. “Okay.” She said and took a deep breath; “I’m not sure what to tell you. I think I might have some issues with food. Some food scares me and I feel like I’m too chubby to be allowed to have more than a certain amount of food. I just want to look good I guess. I don’t feel like I’m good enough….” 

Kates eyes watered up in what Max recognised like some sort of understanding(?): “Max, I used to have issues with food too, so I think I understand where you are coming from. You feel like you don’t have enough control in what is happening around you, so you want to control something, right? Please, you are very thin. I know I shouldn’t make comments like this to someone who has food issues, but you need to know this. I assume from what you have said that you don’t see yourself the way you actually look like. And I’ve heard people talking about it you know, Dana and Warren are worried too. Even Mr. Jefferson asked me some questions about it and asked me to keep an eye on you about it. I want to help you, Max! If you want my help that is. Actually, even if you don’t want my help, I will still help you, I will help you see how beautiful and mazing you are in all sorts of ways that you obviously don’t see yourself!” 

“Kate, I don’t know what to say but thank you.” A single tear escaped Max’s eye and she quickly wiped it away. She didn’t know that Kate had similar issues too and her heart really went out to her. She couldn’t believe she found someone who could understand what she was going through. And the thought of everyone talking about it gave her some anxiety but made her realise that something really must be wrong. And Mr. Jefferson asking and talking about this with Kate made her heart feel warm as he obviously cared for her. But the warm feeling didn’t last long as she remembered the recent heart-breaking events that took place between the two of them. “All I can tell you is that I have been eating a bit better lately and don’t have as many of those scary thoughts.” This was due to her spending time with Mark and enjoying herself. But now that it was probably over, she felt the thoughts and feelings overwhelm her once again and she did the best to ignore them and to hide yet another tear. 

“I am glad to hear that. I’m here for you, Max. Whatever you need and even if you don’t need anything. Happiness doubles when you share it with a friend and sorrow splits in half when shared with a friend.” 

“I understand what you’re saying. And I think you are right. Thank you for everything.” 

“You are welcome. And thank you Max, for everything as well.” Kate said, stood up and gave a huge hug to her friend. 

___ 

Max ended up being with Kate longer than she thought but she didn’t mind. Actually, she loved it. Even though her secret about food was finally out, she was happy she could share it with someone. Nothing as self-isolating as not being able to share a secret with anyone. But now that it was finally out made her feel anxious but relieved at the same time. And Mark is worried about me too; she thought; I knew that he knows. Ever since he left that chocolate bar at the campuses coffee shop on my table, I knew he realised. Him worrying about her once again gave her a warm feeling but not for long as the feeling got exchanged with full sorrow and empty pain in her chest. 

She was now waiting to meet up with Warren at the bus stop. Kate just took a bus back to the academy and Warren was on his way to the town. Some more distraction is definitely what she needed. She received another message from Mark but ignored it, she couldn't even gather strength to open any of her messages. And since Warren confirmed he was in a bus, Max turned off her phone. 

It wasn’t long until Warren arrived, and they shared good old friendly hug. She felt so happy to see him and it wasn’t long until he started cracking jokes and they were both laughing. Just like in good old times. Warren wanted to grab a drink but Max didn’t feel like having another one after having the tea with Kate so she suggested they went either to the beach or the lighthouse instead, and Warren agreed to see the lighthouse since he has already been on the beach. 

They slowly made their way through the forest path whilst Max happily told Warren all about the time she spent up there as a child. Even though she felt ridiculously guilty about not contacting Chloe yet, she soon forgot about it as Warren continued to make her laugh. 

It was already getting dark once they were sitting at the bench and both of them found each other in a moment of silence as they enjoyed and admired the sunset. All of a sudden massive feeling of sadness overflew Max as she remembered all the time she spent there with Mark (and Chloe too) and tears slowly started to escape her eyes. Aside from Kate and Warren, Mark and Chloe were another two of her favourite people. 

“What is it?” Warren asked sounding very worried and confused at the sudden tear outburst. 

“I’m sorry Warren, I just remembered a few things and I feel sad, really sad.” 

Warren considered this for the moment before he stood up. He took Max by the hand and pulled her up. He didn’t say a word but just gave her a huge hug and held her in his arms. 

Max cried for a while until she finally calmed down. 

“It’s okay,” Warren whispered, “This is what friends are for.” He said which brought a small smile on Max’s face. They were still hugged when Max noticed Mr. Jefferson turning around in a distance from different forest path that her and Warren came from and disappearing in the dark. 

Oh no. 

“Warren, you have to go!” she told him without much explanation. 

He looked surprised and almost slightly hurt, but he did not argue with her, and did what she asked.


	11. Chapter 11

___oOo___ 

Max approached him and hugged him from behind, but he did not return the hug. He was lost in the thought so he barely noticed when she hugged him. So many confusing thoughts and feelings run throughout his body. Once he finally noticed, he turned around and cupped her slightly blushed cheeks with his hands; Gosh, was she beautiful. 

“What?” Max asked bringing him back from his thoughtfulness. What?; he thought. So many things went through his mind. First of all, nothing of this should have had happened. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to find someone so innocent and sweet and kind to like him for who he was. But she was his student and he was her professor. And he couldn’t believe how lucky and unlucky he was to find something with her, something mutual. Love; he thought. Was it love? Was it being in love? Those are two different things. Maybe just a crush from both sides. They were still far from building up a strong relationship that shouldn’t even exist, and yet they were moving so fast. Too fast, too fast for something that should not have had happened under any circumstances, any circumstances at all. What was he thinking?? All of this now seemed like a bad idea and like it was all just too much. He was charmed by her innocence, and guided by his passion and hunger for her, something he never felt for anyone else. At least not to this distent. But why did he feel the way he felt about her and why did she share his feelings. Did she share all of his feelings? Why did he enjoy her company so much? Girls her age are usually naïve and just kids really, in his eyes at least. But there was something different about Max. What was different about her, he did not know, but there was something different and exciting and new. Something so different from any girl he has met so far in his life, something so different from what he felt for anyone in his life. 

He remained silent for a moment: “Nothing”, he said but his thoughtful gaze probably didn’t change since Max continued: “Okay, something is up. Talk to me, please?” she sat on his sofa and crossed her legs turning in the way to face him, her deep blue gaze piercing his eyes. 

He walked up and sat at the other end of the sofa. He wanted to sit next to her but so many thoughts and feelings were occupying his mind and he needed a bit of distance from her, hoping that this distance will make his mind somewhat clearer. After a moment of silence, he sighed and said: “Maybe I was too rash with you.”; what am I saying? 

“We already spoke about this. I told you I wanted it and I wanted it with you. And unless you did not want it, there were no issues. I had an amazing time with you, and I hope for more amazing nights with you!” Max said sounding frustrated and almost sad. 

He silently agreed within her. He hoped for more amazing nights and days with her, only if circumstances were different. Mark exhaled loudly and remained silent for another moment; What in the hell am I doing?; he asked himself. He wasn’t even sure what he was going to tell her. He did want it wit her, he wanted so many things with her, but now he felt so unsure: “I don’t know, I think we shouldn’t have done it, at least not this fast.” Max’s face turned slightly angry and worried, her cheeks slowly blushing; she was so beautiful indeed; “I mean,” he continued, “you’re so young, I almost feel like I have used you. As your professor, I really shouldn’t have had put you in this position or in this whole situation. Maybe it’s a mistake...” he said sounding very distant, now turning his back partially to Max as he struggled to face her. He couldn’t bear to see her facial expression and her deep blue eyes, her beautiful eyes and blushing cheeks. He felt so guilty for what he did, for what he felt and for what he has just now said; oh the commotion he felt inside himself. 

Maybe he should have talked with her about all of this when she asked him to talk about it, about what they had going on. Maybe they would sort out the dilemma and either decide it was okay or not okay, either way, it would have been better than what was happening now. This dilemma was killing him and she probably had some dilemmas too. He should have been more open with her about it whilst there was time to do so. 

After a moment of deafening silence which seemed to last too long to him whilst he waited for her to say something, anything at all, Max just stood up and quickly proceeded to grab her things, not even turning to face him or to look at him, not even trying to say anything to what he has just said; Maybe there wasn’t much she could say to what he faced her with, which was the reality of their situation. 

“Hey wait!” he pleaded after he noticed her rash action. But she was already fully clothed and was angrily and shakily bolting for the door. He stood up and started walking after her pleading for her to wait again. 

Max basically run out of his house no matter that he yelled after her to wait and that he was so sorry for what he has said. “Please stay and let’s talk about this! I’m sorry!” he exclaimed after her, but she did not stop, she did not turn around, she just rushed down the street. He stopped at his door and stared after her feeling desperate. He knew he could not follow her as Nathan lived nearby, and no one should see them together, especially not like this. He quickly grabbed his phone and rang her number. No answer. His call went to a voicemail. He clicked the red button and proceeded to write a message: “Max, please come back and let’s talk this through!”. Message sent. He waited nervously a few minutes, pacing up and down his hallway and looking out of the window hoping to see her return. Nothing. He tried calling again but to no avail, still no answer. He wrote another message: “Max, please. When you calm down a bit drop me a message or give me a call. Or let me know where to meet up.” – message sent. He decides to leave his door unlocked just in case she would return. 

Nothing else remained for him but to wait to hear back from her. His thought buzzed through his head; confusion, anger, sadness, guilt. So many emotions. Too many emotions, all at once washed all over him. 

He knew he was her professor, he knew he shouldn’t have had done what he did, but what was done was done. And he wanted it with her, only her. And now that it was done, he wanted to work on it. Maybe. He wasn’t sure. Well, he knew what his heart wanted but reason is a different thing. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and sat down on his sofa. Maybe it was for the best? To let her go? To leave it at what it was. Maybe he should try to stop her after the class and apologise and tell her they should just pretend nothing has ever happened? But did they go too far to pretend nothing has happened at all? They did indeed go too far to just pretend. He probably couldn’t pretend nothing has happened whilst in class with her. He could barely keep his eyes off of her so far, so imagine how hard it would be to do it now. Even when he pretended he wasn’t paying her any attention, he kept the corner of his eye close on her, noticing every move she made, every blush of her cheeks, every spark in her eyes, every daydream. 

He pulled a photograph from his shirt pocket. It was a selfie photo he took of the two of them in front of the lighthouse. He gazed at it for a while. Lost in thought, slowly sipping his whiskey. He didn’t even realise that he already finished his glass, so he poured himself another one and sat back on his sofa. He placed the photo on a coffee table and found himself zoning out, blankly staring out of the window. His phone was set on the loudest possible setting and he held it in his hand, not letting it go. Just in case he would receive a message or a call. Just in case Max would get back to him. 

More time has passed, and he was already on his fourth whiskey glass. Still nothing from Max. He still thought about it. About all of it. About all the gazing and hidden smile games they had in the classroom. About all the conversations they had at the beginning or the end of the class. About the time he saw her at the coffee shop. About the time he dared to ask her to accompany her to the beach. About the time he took photos of her at the lighthouse. About the taste of her sweet, sweet lips when he first dared to kiss her. About the time he was jealous because he thought she would choose Mr. Warren instead of him. Just your Maxine; she told him. Just mine Maxine; he repeated after her. Oh, and the sweet, sweet nights he had with her, and the hot morning they shared. All the conversations and giggles and laughter. It was almost too good to be true. He decided what he wanted to do, and he could only hope that Max would share his now certain feelings. He wants to work on it, just with her. He typed her another message: “Please meet me at sundown at the lighthouse if you want us to work this out. Please” he pleaded in the message, feeling desperate. Now nothing remained for him but to wait until they would meet up. He was going to be there and wait all night if necessary. He needed another chance and he needed it badly. His heart felt like it could break in half, which kind of made him angry. He picked up the photo from the coffee table again and dreamily observed it. 

After a while he stood up and approached his own artwork on his walls. He thoughtfully stared at the eyes of the girls in his photographs. There was no innocence there. Or at least no innocence that he managed to capture in a single selfie shot with his sweet Maxine. His, heh; he thought; Hopefully his. His artwork was well established with his most popular work being black and white shots. His work was specifically focused on black and white portrait photography and shots involving female models in sexualised positions, although that was not all he was working on or was focused on. His portfolio was still broad. He had very strict opinions on art and photography and was always prepared to criticize but to also praise others’ work. For example, he didn’t really like Diane Arbus or her specific art style. He so strongly believed in beauty and innocence that art should maintain. Whilst Arbus thought she had perfect shots, he believed that true beauty was almost impossible to obtain without doing something daring. 

And Max did daring things to obtain the impossible beauty of the moment. Maybe not more daring things than him, but still daring. He fondly remembered of daring question she asked him to obtain those beautiful photos capturing a wide variety of his emotions in just a split moment. No other student ever asked him something like that, and it was a daring question to ask. He was impressed by the innocence she did it with. Daring innocence. He has never seen it in someone before. Max was the first. Maybe that is what drove him to her so much. She possessed something he never did or maybe never could. Maybe that’s why he felt so drawn to her. It was so sweet it would make his heart melt. He also remembered how Max didn’t give a damn who was about when she was taking a shot of those squirrels in front of the Academy. She was so in the moment with them that she didn’t even notice when he first said that she had an interesting camera there. He had to repeat himself to capture her attention. He had to do so much to capture her attention. He almost felt like he could never capture her completely. She was a wild spirit. A wild, beautiful and free spirit that he wanted to capture for himself. 

But classes he held for his students proved that it was really hard to capture Max’s wild imagination. She was always dreaming of something. Of what, he didn’t know, but he wanted to. He tried standing close to her hoping to get her attention (and somehow, he hoped that this closeness would allow him a small glimpse into her mind). He also hoped that he would get a glimpse of her doodling in her notebook, hoping this would give him more answers, but instead it gave him more questions about her. She was an enigma of a sort, at least to him. 

He wanted to capture her and know everything there was to know about her. But at the moment that seemed impossible. He maybe had her captured for himself, at least for a while, but then he screwed it up. His reasoning was a good reasoning at the time, and even now. But they have already gone too far to pretend nothing had ever happened. So maybe he would get another chance to have her for himself. To have some more time to hold her in his arms, to explore her body, her deep blue eyes and her wonderful and so innocent mind. He could only hope. 

___ 

Sundown arrived and he finally could get going. He sat in his car and decided to drive to a parking spot above the lighthouse. Not many people went to the lighthouse and no one went above it, especially after dark, but he still had to be careful. Some students still ventured there every now and then. That is why he decided to go for the parking spot above the lighthouse. Night was cold thought, so he hoped that there would be no one there, no one but his sweet, sweet Maxine. 

He arrived and checked his phone one last time. Still no answer in any form. He could only hope that she would be there. He promised himself he would wait the whole night if needed, just if there was any chance that she would appear, just if there was a possibility that he will get to see her and hold her in his arms again. Just if there was a possibility that he would get to kiss hear again and see her blushing cheeks. 

He slowly made his way through the dark forest path, struggling a bit as it was hard to see. As he approached their bench he noticed a couple hugging. He slowed down and decided he needed to get a bit closer to see who it was. To his shock, it was Warren hugging Max, and Max was smiling. He stopped in his tracks, his heart felt like it was breaking. He slowly turned around and sped up his tempo to go back home. This was the last thing he expected. She must have done this on purpose, to made him feel jealous and like an idiot for doing what he did. He deserved nothing more or nothing less for what he did. 

It was idiotic to believe that Max saw Warren only as a friend. They were close, very close, he has seen it so many times. God damnit, he has even seen them kiss. She probably figured he was right about what he has said earlier today and decided to move on. She decided to move on so quickly. It maybe shouldn’t surprise him since how quickly they moved in their relationship, if it even could be called that. Anger overflew him and he hit the first tree with his fist that came along his way, silent grunt escaping his breath. 

He sat in his car but couldn’t go, not yet. He couldn’t make himself start the car and get on his way. He sat there in silence, every now and then releasing quiet, angry and painful, muffled grunts whilst he shakily held their selfie photograph. 

He received a call from Max but this time he decided to ignore it and not answer it. He must have been stupid for deciding to do that. 

Mark must have been there for half an hour at least, staring at his phone, deciding if he should try to contact her again, this time to tell her it was over since she has obviously moved on. He carefully dialed her number (as he remembered it and didn’t have it saved just in case someone looked through his phone) and clicked the call button. 

It rang for a moment and to his surprise she did pick up. 

“Max,-” he started but instead of hearing her replay he heard the phone crush on the floor and muffled commotion in the distance. 

“Max!” he yelled, but no answer, still just muffled commotion in the distance from the phone. He heard a familiar voice yelling at someone, probably at his Maxine. Max screamed. His heart dropped to his heals and he quickly got out of his car and started running towards where he last saw her. He run as fast as he could to avoid tripping over something or bumping into the tree and hurting himself; I need to get there fast! Please, be okay!!!


	12. Chapter 12

___oOo___ 

It was already getting dark once they were sitting at the bench and both of them found each other in moment of silence as they enjoyed and admired the sunset. All of a sudden massive feeling of sadness overflew Max as she remembered all the time she spent there with Mark (and Chloe too) and tears slowly started to escape her eyes. Aside from Kate and Warren, Mark and Chloe were another two of her favourite people. And she felt like Mark just kind of ended things between them and maybe even abandoned her in a way. And she still didn’t contact Chloe. How selfish she felt regarding that, it made her heart break. She felt it was maybe even too late to try and contact her now, because how is she going to explain why the hell didn’t she contact her straight away. And if she didn’t contact her straight away, why didn’t she do it sooner? And Mark? Or Mr. Jefferson? What was she supposed to do? Maybe call him now? How was she going to face him in the classroom with everything that happened between them? Should she try to contact him? So that they can at least talk this through before they see each other next time in the Academy? Imagine how awkward that would be. Maybe she would even be too anxious to go to his lecture. 

“What is it?” Warren asked sounding very worried and confused at the sudden tear outburst. 

“I’m sorry Warren, I just remembered a few things and I feel sad, really sad.” 

Warren considered this for the moment before he stood up. He took Max by the hand and pulled her up. He didn’t say a word but just gave her a huge hug and held her in his arms. 

That was exactly what she needed. A big and warm hug. She felt like nothing else could make her feel better, unless maybe she could go back in time and fix some of her choices and events up. What if she stayed to talk things through with Mark instead of escaping and hiding way? Maybe everything could go back to normal, maybe there was a possibility of them talking it through. Max cried bitter tears for a while until she finally calmed down. 

“It’s okay,” Warren whispered, “This is what friends are for.” He said which brought a small smile on Max’s face. They were still hugged when Max noticed a dark figure in the distance turning around. There was no mistake, it was Mr. Jefferson turning around in a distance from different forest path that her and Warren came from and he was fastly disappearing in the dark. 

Oh no. 

“Warren, you have to go!” she told him without much explanation. 

He looked surprised and almost slightly hurt, but he did not argue with her, and did what she asked. 

She watched him leave and he turned around to check on her for the last time: “You know how to reach me if you need anything!” he added from the distance. She only nodded. Once he was out of sight, Max grabbed her head. She couldn’t believe what has just happened. She quickly grabbed her phone and turned it on. ‘Three unread messages’. She opened them and realised it was all from Mark: 

Message 1: “Max, please come back and let’s talk this through!”. Only of she did it straight away. Yes, so much was going through her mind but there was obviously a lot going on through his mind too. She should have stayed and talked to him like an adult and not escape like a scared and hurt dove. So many things could have had been different now. Maybe they would have had another amazing night if they managed to work through it and talk it out. 

Message 2: “Max, please. When you calm down a bit drop me a message or give me a call. Or let me know where to meet up.”. If she had read this one she still had time to go back to his place and talk everything through with this before meeting with Kate. Why, oh why didn’t she read his messages at least! 

Message 3: “Please meet me at sundown at the lighthouse if you want us to work this out. Please”. 

Her heart dropped to her stomach. Why, oh why did she ignore his messages! She could have read them at least even if she didn’t want to answer them. There was no need to answer to his messages if she felt like she needed to think more about it or if she needed more time in general, but at least she could have read what he typed to her. That way none of this would have had happened! 

He saw her with Warren, hugging and smiling with him! Who knows how long was he there for, maybe he saw her having an amazing time with him once again and she knew that Mr. Jefferson didn’t like Warren, or didn’t like the idea that Warren liked her. For god’s sake, he thought that she and Warren had something and she needed to spend a lot of time trying to convince him otherwise. She once again screwed it all up royally. 

She picked up her phone and dialed Mark’s number. It rang and rang, and the longer it rang the worst she felt: anxiety, sadness and guilt overwhelming her. What if he doesn’t pick up? And he didn’t! What if this is the end between the two of them, what if she just really screwed it up all the way through. What if this is it? She didn’t want it to be it, she wanted everything and more with Mark. She had such an amazing time with her. She remembered everything they have been through in flashes that brought up all the emotions, fears and hopes she had and shared about and with him. 

She sat back down on the bench and tears started streaming down her face once again. She had feelings for Mark, she assumed that he was as confused as she was. The last conversation they had confirmed that in a great way. She was confused as he was, all of this shouldn’t have had happened, but she felt so lucky and privileged that it did. He was her professor in the end, and a person of really high status, there was no mistake in that. She had a crush on him for so long, and that crush turned to something else. She was definitely in love with him, and he seemed to be in love with her too, or at least he felt something more than he ever did for any other student (she hoped). Oh, the things he would tell her and the compliments he would give her, it would make her knees weak, her head sway and hear heart beat as fast as neve before. She never felt butterflies in her stomach because of anyone else in the way she did when she was with him, or even just thinking about him. She never felt as warm with anyone else either as she did when she was with Mark, when he held her in his arms. He just knew what to say and he just knew what to do to make her go crazy and to make her feel like her knees would give out. And sex, sex was amazing, he just knew to hit all the right spots. She heard that it can be hard for women to reach climax during the act, if their partner didn’t know what they were doing. But Mark knew just what she needed and liked, he just knew it. And he remembered, he remembered that she mostly ate veggies and made sure there was plenty for her to choose from in his fridge. He would make her teas and coffee just the way she liked them, and when she was with him she really didn’t care all that much for how much she was eating. When she was with him, the rest of the world would just slowly fade away into the forgettable void. 

He was a whole package, everything she ever wanted. And now she screwed it up. She stared at her phone, hoping to hear back from him. She hoped to hear her phone ring at least just once more, just another message, just another call. 

Max was just about to type him a message when she heard footsteps approaching. She turned around expectantly but couldn’t see who it was just yet. It was already very dark and a dark figure was approaching her slowly. Thank god; she thought; he is coming back, we will talk about all of this and we will find a way to fix this and figure it out! 

The dark figure started to speed up his tempo towards her and she swore that it was Mark. She stood up and braced herself for (what she was hoping) would be a hug. Instead, a dark figure quickly started running at her and when she finally and fearfully realised who it was, it was already too late. She received a hard punch to her stomach, making all of her air escape her lungs and she found herself falling on the floor in agonising pain, not being able to breathe in. 

“I told you to stay away from him!” Nathan yelled as he grabbed her by her shirt and turned her on her back. Max wanted to fight back but she still couldn’t catch her breath. She gripped the phone in her hand really hard hoping this would help her at the moment to slam Nathan on his head. 

“You bitch!” he yelled as he pinned her down, sitting on her chest making it impossible for her to move, and making it even harder for her to try to catch a breath. This is where Max had a ridiculous moment of clarity. She finally recognised the voice of the person who pinned her down a while ago whilst she was trying to escape from the four men through the dark forest. She was so happy she managed to hit him in the head with the bottle, asshole deserved it. She only felt sorry she didn’t do it harder to cause him enough harm to recognise him later, once she saw him on the campus in the following days. He probably had a bruise that was hidden by his dark longish hair. 

Her phone rang and she automatically managed to click the answer button, but Nathan quickly grabbed it from her hand and threw it into the distance, very angry grimace painting over his face. 

This is where Max managed to slowly start fighting back and they found wrestling with each other. For a brief moment, she managed to push him off of her and just as she partially stood up she found herself on the floor once again, gritting her teeth in the pain. Sadly for her, Nathan was stronger and she received far more kicks than he did. He was once again sitting on her torso and he finally managed to push her arms beneath his knees and now she was unable to move or to fight him at all. She kicked around with her legs as that was the only thing for her left to do. She couldn’t fight him in the other way. As she managed to take a deep breath since he wasn’t sitting on her chest anymore, Max managed to release a single scream. 

Nathan quickly covered her mouth to shush her up. 

“Shut the fuck up you bitch. I told you to stay away from him or else! Well, you asked or else what? Here is your or else what!” He proceeded to roughly try to rip her shirt off until she finally heard it rip and cool air now glided over her uncovered chest. The shirt was still partially on her but her chest was uncovered (other than a bra she wore underneath). “How would you like to have your twat stuffed?” he asked and laughed. Max almost had a panic attack and tried to squirm out of his hold. 

This is where Nathan punched her at the side of her head, making her go dizzy and unable to even try and lift her feet to fight anymore. She could have sworn that she lost her conciseness for a quick moment and when she came back to it, Nathan was pulling at her trousers. 

“N-no!” she managed, trying to gather her mental clarity and strength back from all the dizziness and sickness she felt. 

“I will ruin you for him!” he hissed at her, now her trousers were below her knees and his hands were trying to fight her own to take her panties off. 

“N-NO!” she screamed. Nathan punched her in the stomach again and once again she found herself completely winded out, trying to catch some breath all over again. 

Nathan stood up above her and pulled out something and held it in his hand with a malicious grin on his face, she couldn’t say what it was due to the darkness and confusion and fear she felt. 

Last thing Max remembered was a sting to her neck from whatever Nathan was holding in his hand. It was painful and she tried to scream and fight again but she felt herself falling into a big nothingness. “M-Mark!” She managed. Max tried to fight by swaying her arms and legs but the instant feeling of complete weakness and paralysis started to overtake her. All she felt was her head slowly spinning into a dark vortex of a black void.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, this is a short one as I am moving houses; so the next update could take anywhere between 2-3 weeks. I will do my best to have the next chapter done as soon as possible. Hope you enjoyed it so far :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I went on a mad one and decided to give out one last chapter before moving houses :) I can't say when the next one will be ready but I will make sure that it's out as soon as possible. Enjoy!

___oOo___ 

Max regained her consciousness but couldn’t open her eyes. She tried but to no avail. They felt too heavy, almost like they were glued together. All of her limbs felt so stiff and heavy and panic slowly started to set in. She didn’t panic too hard because she felt sedated. But sedated from what? She tried to move but with no luck. Her head felt somehow empty and void of all thoughts. Same was with feelings, other than slight panic and anxiety, she felt nothing, just numb. What happened?; she asked herself but she couldn’t really remember. She couldn’t really remember anything and this scared her. She took a deep breath in, pain overflew her torso and she managed to grit her teeth slightly. In this moment, epiphany came in and she remembered not being able to catch her breath for some time not so long ago in the past. Or at least she hoped it wasn’t so long ago. Sweet smell entered her nostrils and she felt calmer already. It was a familiar sweet smell, a sweet smell of something that reminded her of Mark’s bed sheets. 

She tried to move again, this time managing to move her arms and shoulders just slightly. It hurt. 

“Max?” She heard a familiar voice. “You’re awake? Are you okay? Can you hear me?” questions followed, but she was unable to answer. She tried, but she couldn’t. All she managed was a small grunt and a painful sigh. She was unable to speak which gave her an uncomfortable feeling in her tummy. 

“It’s okay Max, you are with me, everything is okay-” Mark continued. And she felt like it was okay, she was with him and he would take care of her, like he always did. She still felt so disoriented and unsure of what was happening. 

“Is she awake?. Max heard another familiar voice but couldn’t put her finger on the face that the voice belonged to. She tried to remember, but her head just felt empty. She tried to move once again but sudden feeling of nausea overflew her. She held her breath to stop the feeling of sickness and to potentially prevent herself from vomiting. She could barely move, and she couldn’t speak. The least she wanted was to be sick all over herself and Mark’s bed. 

“She is, but she is still sedated. She still needs to rest.” Mark said to the second voice. “It will take her some more time to get around, the doctor said she would be okay, but she needs to rest.” 

Sedated? Doctor?; questions echoed in her seemingly empty mind. Why was she sedated and why did she needed a doctor again?; thoughts continued to echo through her head. 

“I just don’t understand why didn’t we call her parents.” The second familiar voice continued. 

“She wouldn’t want that. She told me that this would have to be her decision, so she would be the one to call them. She is an adult after all. And I checked the forms and she didn’t put them as the first contact in the case of emergency.” 

“Who is the first contact then and why isn’t she still in hospital though?” the man asked sounding slightly irritated. 

“We already spoke about this. Come, lets move and give her some space and some more quiet time to rest, we can continue talking downstairs.” Mark said to the second man. “Go to sleep Max, we are here. There is nothing to be afraid of anymore.” Mark told her. She could feel his warm hand on her forehead and it instantly calmed her down. All anxiety, fear and panic she felt were now gone. She heard footsteps going away and the door closing. It was finally silent. She enjoyed having someone in the room for a moment since she felt so alone and helpless, but their talking sparked a painful headache deep within her head. 

So, she was in Mark’s bed, in his house. She didn’t remember telling him not to call her parents in emergency situations, but to be honest, she didn’t even know what the situation was. She also couldn’t remember who she put down in her forms as an emergency contact. After all, she was glad no one contacted her parents. Mark maybe knew her well enough to know that she was the one who really wanted to be the one to decide if her parents should know something or not. I am an adult after all; she repeated his words in her mind. And her parents would be worried sick, she didn’t want them to be worried sick. She phoned them every few days to give them an update and it seemed to be enough, they were all happy with that sort of communication timetable. 

But why was she sedated? Why did she needed the doctor again? She tried her hardest to remember but her mind was just – empty. What was the last she could remember? She wasn’t sure of that either. She knew who she was, she knew who Mark was, she knew who her friends and family were. She slowly started to count up everyone’s names, starting from her family and moving to everyone else she knew: “Vanessa Caulfield, Ryan Caulfield, Chloe Price, Joyce Price, William Price, Kate Marsh, Warren Graham, Dana Ward, Mark Jefferson, Daniel DaCosta, Victoria Chase...”. Once she moved to everyone from her course, she felt her focus slipping, and without really noticing, she was once again in a deep slumber. 

___ 

Max woke up again. Her limbs still feeling stiff and heavy, but not as much as before. Maybe? She wasn’t sure. She tried to move again but it was extremely hard and it started to bring back the feeling of nausea and sickness so she stopped. Not like she could actually move a lot anyway. Not yet; she thought to herself. She took another deep breath and despite the pain, the sweet smell of Mark’s bedroom and bedsheets almost made her feel like she could get better instantly, or sooner rather than later. She opened her eyes, and sure enough, she was in Mark’s bedroom, she recognised it straight away. However, as soon as she averted her gaze around, the whole room seemed to spin as her eyes moved, making her feel extremely nauseous. She promptly closed her eyes. She still didn’t want to be sick all over herself and Mark’s bed. 

What did they talk about again?; Max asked herself. A situation? Did something happen? Did something happen to her? She still felt disoriented but not as bad as before. Now it was easier to remember people and who exactly they were, including some memories of them and some memories they shared. Is she awake; Mark asked. She could ask herself the same thing since it felt like she actually wasn’t really awake. He also asked if she was okay and if she could hear him. His words echoed through her mind. Why wouldn’t she be okay? Oh yes, because she can barely move or do anything with herself. But why? What happened? Her parents don’t know, that was what she remembered for sure. But what didn’t they know? Why didn’t they know that she was lying in her professor’s bed feeling absolutely horrendous and unable to move. But why? That she didn’t know either. Oh right, because they were not on her emergency contact list. Could she try and remember why? Maybe, but her thoughts still felt so distant. Why isn’t she in the hospital; the second man asked. Why indeed? If she was sedated and unable to move without feeling sick, she surely should be in the hospital and overlooked and cared for by doctors and nurses. Was she drugged? That maybe could explain why she was feeling the way she was feeling. But surely, they would have had kept her in the hospital until her system would clear out of whatever was wrong. An uncomfortable headache started to set in again, probably due to too much thinking. Mark said that she still needed to rest. Maybe she needed even more rest than she hoped she would need to get out of this ridiculous and confusing state. 

As she slowly started to lose herself to another rush of vortex and void, she heard footsteps approaching from the distance. The door opened and she tried to fight the sudden rush of sleepiness and exhaustion. 

“Max?” She heard Mark from the door. 

“Aha?” She managed to respond. “Wha-” she tried but couldn’t continue. More nausea washed over her body so she stopped herself from speaking any further. 

“Shhh. It’s okay, I brought you some water.” He said, his voice sounding soft. She heard his footsteps approaching, and the closer he got the better she could smell his perfume. The sweet smell made her feel slightly better and definitely comforted. 

“Can’t, water.” she managed to say. 

“You absolutely have to.” he said matter of factly. Max felt bed denting where Mark sat next to her. She could feel the warmth of his body. She heard him pouring water in what she assumed was a glass. But to her surprise, instead of cold glass she felt a wet, soft fabric pressed to her lips. 

“Here you go.” Mark said in a soft and warm voice. “Suck on it.” 

So she did. A small amount of water entered her mouth and she swallowed slowly. He then dipped the gauze back in the water and placed it on her lips again. “Have some more.” he commanded softly. 

Max continued to suck on the wet soft fabric, taking small amounts of water at the time. 

“Wha-” she tried, but no more words could leave her lips. 

“Shhhhh.” Mark whispered. “We will talk when you feel better. Just so you know, it’s Monday midday. You should rest and feel better by the morning. Go back to sleep. I will come to check on you later again.” He rose from the bed and started to walk away. 

“Don’t-” Max started but couldn’t finish. Don’t go is what she wanted to say but couldn’t. She could feel Mark stopping in his tracks. Footsteps slowly started to approach her again and she received a sweet, warm kiss to her forehead. “I can’t stay,” he whispered “I need to go and discuss recent events with Ian, and we will discuss this together when you feel better tomorrow morning. Go and sleep now.” He kissed her forehead again. 

Ian; Max thought; that’s right, it is Mark’s friend, the inspector. That was the second male voice she recognized but couldn’t place it with a face. He was here too. What in the hell happened? Worry started to overflow her mind. Anxiety would probably overflow her body too if it didn’t feel so numb and almost alien to her. 

Remember Max, remember; she pleaded with herself. What was the last that happened? What is the last thing you can remember? Okay, yesterday was Sunday. I had some sort of fight with Mark on Sunday. I think I escaped. I saw Kate too, that’s right! I saw Kate and we went for a drink together. We talked for quite a while. Memories of their conversation started to pour in back to Max’s mind. Poor Kate; she thought; she has been through too much, I really feel bad for her. She is getting too much shit from everyone, I hope they will leave her alone. And her parents want her to change schools? That's right, I remember her saying that. But no, I won’t let that happen! And I won’t let her be alone, I will be with her through all of this, especially now when I know everything about what happened. 

But what next? Kate left and I met with someone else I believe? Max wished she could reach for her phone and check her messages and call history, which would at least give her some insight into where she was and with whom she spent her time with. But she didn’t know where her phone was. Actually, when she thought about that, she didn’t know where anything of hers was. Probably somewhere in Mark’s house; she hoped. She was sure it would help her remember what happened. 

All she remembered after Kate was that she was supposed to meet someone else and that she was ignoring some messages and phone calls. Whose, she wasn’t sure. Maybe Marks? Because they kind of had a fight, it kind of broke down what they had? 

The sudden realisation of what happened between them hit her. She wanted to talk to him before it was too late, but he wouldn’t, until it all finally hit him the same way it was hitting her too and it all came crushing down. She remembered hugging him and him not returning the hug. She remembered having to plead to get some sort of answer out of him. And what she got was that he thought everything was moving too fast and that he was rash with her, no matter that she was an adult who was capable of making decisions for herself. She had asked him what was wrong but he still said nothing. When she finally managed to make him talk, he explained that he thought that she was too young, that he felt like he used her. This brings her back to being a consenting adult, an adult who is capable of making her own decisions for herself. But as her professor, he maybe did use his position in a way. Or not really. Maybe yes, maybe no, it didn’t really matter that much. What mattered is that he said it was all a mistake. There is where everything went to shit. Max remembered not being able to collect herself and her thoughts and emotions and literally running away from him. He pleaded that she stopped after her, but she couldn’t. She should have had. Everything might have ended up different. 

Sure, he was kind and sweet towards her now when she needed help. But what will happen once she is okay in the morning as he said. Will he be distant again? Will he refuse to talk to her about all of it? Wait, first things first, she needs to find out what in the hell happened yesterday. 

She tried to turn around as she was starting to feel uncomfortable lying on her back. Slowly but surely she managed to move although her limbs still felt slightly stiff and heavy. Headache kicked back in with a new wave of nausea. But as quickly as it came, nausea went away. She was lying on her side now and felt a lot more comfortable. Although, her whole body ached, especially her torso. Bruises; it popped in her mind. It was the bruising type of pain she felt, and she knew how to recognise it due to her usually being prone to easily bruising all over her body to a slightly rougher touch. It was a specific kind of pain and discomfort. Was her whole torso bruised? Because each breath brought in that bruise pain (as she called it). Why thought? Was she in an accident? But then it would make no sense for her to be drugged. Unless she was sedated after the accident. Maybe they sedated her in the hospital to ease her pain and Mark found her and brought her back to his place to rest? How did he find her thought? Maybe he was on her list for the emergency contact. 

The more she thought the more questions she had. It wasn’t helping her feeling of anxiety at all. This whole uncertainty brought really nasty feelings to her stomach and black thoughts to her mind. Anything could have had happened, but she was worried the most why she couldn’t remember what and why she was where she was. She slowly slipped into another dark slumber. 

___ 

Max woke up and it was sunny outside. She managed to prompt herself slightly up in the bed. She didn’t feel nauseous any longer but her limbs still felt heavy. Not stiff thought, and that was a good step forward. She looked out of the window and realised it was not morning sunshine shining outside, but rather sundown. By looking around she noticed a glass of water next to her bed and she thirstily drank out of it. Oh god, was she thirsty. Her mouth felt completely dry. She placed the glass back on the end table and noticed a framed photograph placed face down behind the water pitcher. She lifted it and to her surprise, it was a photograph she took of two squirrels playing outside of the Academy. This filled her heart with warmth. She fondly remembered the conversation she had with her than just a favourite professor before Nathan Prescott bumped into her. 

Max decided to sit up in the bed and slowly pushed her legs to the side of the bed, carefully placing them on the floor. Nausea and dizziness washed over her once again but this time she reckoned it was due to not eating. She didn’t know what day it was so she didn’t know when was the last time she ate. Ah, the cake she had with Kate, that was on Sunday; Max remembered. Mark told her it was Monday midday last she saw him. It could still be Monday or maybe even Tuesday. 

She slowly stood up, very slowly as dizziness kept on washing over her. Once she was steady on her feet, she slowly made her way to the bathroom connected to Mr. Jefferson’s room. His room was like a small en suite. She locked the door behind her and went to the toilet. She really needed it. Once she was done, she stood infront of the mirror. She looked thin. Sickly thin. Her skin colour was grayish and pale, and she had dark circles below her eyes. She slowly took Mark’s shirt off (she didn’t even realise she was wearing his shirt instead of her own, until she started to take it off. Why?; she thought) and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. She was yet to look at herself. She was afraid to do so. 

She finally opened her eyes after taking in a deep painful breath. Bruises. Bruises all over her chest, her ribs and her stomach. Her eyes watered up. She never saw bruises like these. They were so dark and some of them already started to change colours. Her torso was covered with them. No wonder each breath hurt like a bitch, all of her ribs were completely bruised. Then she stopped and looked at her ribs. They were visible without her having to lift her arms. What the hell; she thought to herself. She didn’t even realise how thin she has gotten, and this was the first time in forever that she felt like she could see herself with some kind of clarity. She didn’t see any fat any longer, aside from her stomach maybe, she had the tiniest roll underneath her belly button. 

After almost getting sick from looking at herself, she slowly took her trousers off. Her legs were bruised too. Not as bad as her torso, but her thighs were probably bruised the most. Her shins were not as bad as her knees. She turned around in the spot and examined herself in the mirror. I can’t believe I’m this thin; she thought to herself. But what in the hell happened?? 

Max got into the shower and cried. 

___ 

“Max?” she heard from the other side of the door. She turned off the water so that she would be able to answer. 

“I needed a shower, I will be done soon. What time it is?” 

“That’s okay” Mark answered from the other side, “I will leave you some clean clothes on the bed. They're mine, but it’s better than nothing at the moment. When you’re done, come downstairs. It’s still Monday and it’s dinner time. I will make you something light to eat.” 

“Okay! And thank you!” she answered and turned the water back on so that she could go back to crying. She felt grateful, but still so confused about everything. She still had no idea what was going on and she felt extremely helpless, like she completely depended on Mark and whatever he had to offer and say. She liked that he was so helpful and cared for her, but she didn’t like to have to depend on someone for everything, especially when something bad has obviously happened to her. 

Once she calmed down and finished her shower, she slowly dressed (as she was still feeling dizzy) in oversized Mark’s clothes and slowly made her way downstairs. The sweet smell of soup and veggies filled her nostrils as she ventured down the stairs. Her mouth started to water as she hasn’t eaten in a while, and whatever she went through made her feel exhausted and starved. Well, she was also starved from starving herself intentionally. Could it be called intentional starving? Heh, she felt like it was more of a forced diet. Forced by whom, she wasn’t sure, but she wasn’t on that diet by her own will, at least no from one point. She was unsure when that point happened, but it did, and from then onwards it was forced. 

“Hello.” she said and Mark and inspector Ian turned their heads. 

“Hello, Max. “ Ian started, “Come and take a seat.” He gestured next to himself. “We have plenty to talk about as soon as you have your dinner. Mark made you a tea, come and have something to drink.” 

Max listened to what she was told to do. She sat next to the inspector Ian and took a sip of her tea. 

“Soup is ready, and the rest will follow soon.” Mark added from the kitchen, pouring her some soup in a bowl and serving it in front of her. “Be careful, it’s hot.” 

Max slowly ate at her soup feeling like it brought the life back to her. She felt slightly nauseous after the first two spoons, but after that she started to feel like she was reborn. As soon as she was finished with her soup, veggies and rice were served in front of her. Mark and Ian sat there in awkward silence, waiting for her to finish up. She did her best to eat as fast as possible, and to be honest, she didn’t even have to try. She was so hungry that she basically stuffed the veggies and rice in her mouth as fast as possible without burning her mouth or getting nauseous. Once she was done, Ian started: “So.” 

“So...” Mark followed. 

“So.” Max said.


	14. Chapter 14

___oOo___ 

Ian started: “So.” 

“So...” Mark followed. 

“So.” Max said. 

Ian continued: “What do you remember of what happened?” 

Max took a brief moment and took a sip of her tea: “I did my best to remember through the whole time I was awake, but to be honest with you, I don’t remember anything that happened.” she said, sounding sad and worried. She closely observed for any cues on their facial expressions for any clues of what might be going on. Mark looked worried whilst Ian had a professional poker face. 

“That is okay, people often suppress their traumas. How about we start from the beginning of that day. So, Sunday. Can you tell me what you did on Sunday morning?” 

Max almost gasped. What was she supposed to say? That she had sex with her professor and then they had a fight and she bolted? She coughed to buy herself another moment. “Excuse me, but I’m covered in bruises and I just want to know what happened to me. Is that too much to ask?” she asked both of them. 

“Well-” Mark started but was promptly interrupted by Ian who raised his hand in order to stop any other words leaving his lips. 

“It is important that you remember as much as you can on your own. Because what you say is important in this matter. Us telling you a story first could change too much and completely change your recollection of the true events of the story you’re about to tell us.” 

Max considered. Obviously, he was right. But how the hell was she going to get out of this one. Tell inspector that she was doing homework with Mr. Jefferson in the morning? She knows that two of them already spoke so she has no idea what kind of story did he sold to inspector. It could have been anything. And if she says something wrong, it will be obvious that she is lying and that will not bode well with the inspector and the story she has to share. 

“Excuse me, inspector, but I feel uncomfortable talking to you about this. Could I talk to Mar- ekhem – Mr. Jefferson about this first?” Max almost let Mr. Jefferson’s first name slip through her lips, but she caught herself in the last moment, hoping that the inspector didn’t notice her little maneuver. 

Ian considered for a long, quiet moment. Both Max and Mark stared at him. “Fine.” he said after a moment. "You guys get five minutes whilst I go outside to have a smoke.” Ian got up as he was finishing his sentence and made his way toward the terrace, closing the door behind him. 

“Mr. Jefferson, what in the hell do I tell him about the Sunday morning???” Max asked feeling extremely confused and feeling very self-conscious. 

“Tell him the truth. He is my friend. He won’t use anything we tell him to incriminate us, but rather to give us advice and make the report to go into our advantage and favour.” he told her matter of factly, without even flinching. 

There was some awkward silence between them. Max wanted to make sure that the inspector couldn’t hear them and once she saw him light his cigarette and pull out his phone, she looked at Mr. Jefferson. 

“Did you tell him?” Max asked, feeling anxious and unsure of what to expect. 

“I did. He is my best friend. He needs to know. Especially because of what happened later.” He said, almost sounding distant but his attention was completely averted to her. 

“You did tell him?” Max asked sounding startled and surprised. “And what did happen later, I mean to me?” she continued with her questioning. 

“I cannot tell you that. Ian’s instructions, sorry.” he shrugged his shoulders, sounding almost apologetic. 

“Do we get to talk about everything once he’s gone?” 

“Of course, we will talk about everything that has happened that night once again, as many times as you need or like.” 

“That is not what I had in mind” Max added, “I was talking about our fight or whatever it was.” 

Mark remained silent for a long while, rubbing the back of his neck. As he opened his mouth, the inspector opened the terrace door and was within the ears reach now. Not good time to keep on talking about that one, at least not now; Max thought; maybe later. 

Ian closed in towards them and sat across Max. Mark sat to the right of her. They formed a semi-circle. “Okay, I think you two had more than enough time to talk about whatever you needed to sort out. So, now, Max. Sunday? Start from the beginning.” he said and looked at her expectantly, his notebook and pen ready on the table. 

Max felt extremely anxious, but Ian was the one who tried to help her before too. And as Mr. Jefferson said, he was his best friend. He was here to do them a favor as a private inspector. 

“Why are you here and not the police though?” Max asked, feeling like the question was insolent in a way. 

“Because Mark asked me to do it. And I will report to the police and keep in touch with them. Depending on what I hear here and what we decide to do.” 

“Okay,” Max said feeling reassured: “Okay.” she repeated. “So, Sunday you ask. Well,” she started “I spent my morning here with Mr. Jefferson and we had some sort of disagreement which made me want to leave, so I left. I left and went to a nearby park. Now when I think about it, I remember seeing Nathan Prescott just before I took a turn towards the park. I sat in the park for a while thinking about everything. Then I believe that I went to the Arcadia Teas with my classmate and friend Kate Marsh, you can check it with her (inspector took a note). We were there for quite some time I think as we had a lot to talk about and a lot to discuss. I can’t remember the exact time we separated but I believe I went to meet someone else too, but I can’t remember whom, I tried but with no luck!” Max exclaimed. “If only I could take a look at my phone, I’m sure I could find something in my messages or call log to help me remember!” 

Ian looked at Mark and Mark looked at Ian. Ian gave him a nod so Mark stood up and took a leave to go upstairs. Once he was out of their view, inspector asked: “And what were you doing with Mark, or Mr. Jefferson here on Sunday morning?” 

“Erm,” Max started to feel increasingly more anxious with every moment and every sentence she said: “We are, or we were kind of involved.” 

“Involved in what way?” Ian asked. 

“In romantical way... So romantically…” Max said and blushed. And sure enough, Mr. Jefferson appeared back and the warmth in her cheeks became even stronger. Her whole face was probably red; she thought. Mr. Jefferson waved her phone to show that he had it and handed it to her. 

Max quickly checked messages and call log. It was obvious that she met with Warren next so she shared the new information with the group. She continued to scroll through her phone and memories one by one started to come back. She waited for Warren at the bus stop just as Kate took a bus back to the Academy. They went to the lighthouse where they watched the sunset and just hanged out, as friends do (she made sure to emphasize that in front of Mr. Jefferson). And then she remembered that she got very sad and asked Warren to leave. “No, something else happened and I asked him to leave.” she corrected herself. 

She quickly scrolled through the messages that Mark sent her: 

Message 1: “Max, please come back and let’s talk this through!”. 

Message 2: “Max, please. When you calm down a bit drop me a message or give me a call. Or let me know where to meet up.”. 

Message 3: “Please meet me at sundown at the lighthouse if you want us to work this out. Please”. 

She remembered her heart dropping to her stomach when she first read the messages. That was right: “Me and Warren were hugging when I noticed a dark figure in the distance turning around, and there was no mistake, it was Mr. Jefferson going back up through a different forest path to which me and Warren came to the lighthouse. And since me and Mr. Jefferson were romantically involved, I got scared of how it looked like to him so I asked Warren to leave. I ignored Mr. Jefferson’s messages and calls from earlier that day. I should have read the messages at least even if I didn’t want to reply to them straight away. Then this stupid situation never would have had happened. Then I felt stupid that Mr. Jefferson saw me with Warren as he thought me and Warren had a thing going on, that's why I asked Warren to leave.” 

“What happened next?” inspector asked after taking a few notes and motioned with a hand to Max to give him her phone so that he could read the messages and the call log as well, taking a few notes. 

“I don’t really know.” Max said lost in thought. “I was considering calling Mr. Jefferson to ask him to come back so that we could talk, and yes, that’s right I called him!” she exclaimed in a moment of clarity. 

“And after that?” Ian asked patiently. 

“I have no idea. I really don’t. I called him (she pointed at Mr. Jefferson who just sat there quietly) and he didn’t answer. That is the last thing I remember. Can someone please tell me what happened to me?” 

“Are you sure? You don't remember anything else?” Ian asked again. 

“I don’t remember anything else.” Max concluded her story with that. 

Mr. Jefferson and Ian looked at each other for a moment and Ian gave a confirming nod to Mark. 

“Okay, so you called me and I decided not to answer because I was angry at the time and wouldn’t have said anything nice to you. But I waited for my anger to pass and phoned you back after some time, about half an hour later. You picked up but didn’t answer, instead I heard your phone crush on the floor and commotion in the distance. I yelled out your name but you did not answer, instead I heard you scream in the distance so I started to run towards you, as fast as I could in that dark. It probably took me around ten minutes to get there, maybe less. When I approached the bench, I saw a dark figure over you and I yelled which must have scared him and he started to run away. I had two options, to run after him, or to run to your motionless body on the floor. I obviously went to you and you were completely out of it.” here he took a moment and stayed silent for a while. 

“I was completely out of it and what?” Max asked feeling anxious about what she could hear next. 

Mark once again looked at the Ian who gave him another nod: “Your shirt was ripped open, there were some visible bruises on you even though it was quite dark. Your trousers were down to your ankles but your underwear was in place. I pulled your trousers back up and covered you up with my jacket and since you were not responding I took you to the hospital. Doctors run some tests and found out you’ve been drugged by something that paralyses you and messes with your memory, I cannot remember the name of the drug they have said though.” Mark exhaled loudly and painfully. “After doctors gave you clearance, I brought you here, I thought this was the safest place for you. You were out of it for quite some time but I and Ian ensured you had some water at least and kept a close eye on you to make sure nothing goes wrong. Doctors gave you an antidote and since your vitals were okay, they released you from the hospital. They allowed me to take you since I’m apparently your emergency contact." Max seldom remembered changing her emergency contacts once she started to get too close with Mr. Jefferson.

“They run some tests Max, and took some photos. It was an attempted rape and an assault, you’ve been drugged.” Ian said matter of factly. “We don’t know who did it, and we haven't found any DNA or fingertips on you so far. We collected your things to analyse those as well. Now I will need to take your trousers too for some final testing, but so far there isn’t any luck at finding who did this to you.” Ian said sounding irritated, but not at Max, rather at the whole situation and not being able to catch the one who was responsible for this. “I will have to report this to the police. I will leave out you being with Mark, that is none of their business, me and him already thought of the reason why he was at the lighthouse when he was so you don’t have to worry about that. Now you just need to worry about yourself. I can give you a number of a good psychologist who specialises in trauma.” 

“I actually don’t feel traumatised since I don’t remember what happened...” Max said considering. 

“Seeing them might help you remember which then could help us get the responsible person behind the bars, where they belong.” 

“I’m not sure I want to remember...” she said anxiously. 

“I will leave you the number just in case, and Mark,” Ian said now talking to Mr. Jefferson: “Make sure she’s doing okay. I will take my leave now with your trousers Max, and I will keep you updated. Mark gave me your phone number so that I can reach you if need be. This won’t go public as I assume you don’t want it to?” 

“No, I don’t, and thank you Mr…?” 

“Just Ian, it’s okay.” he said slowly rising from his seat. Mark has already prepared Max’s trousers in a bag for him to take and before they knew it he was out of the house. 

Max sat there quietly, for quite a while. She didn’t even notice when Mr. Jefferson sat next to her. Once she came back to the reality, she asked: “And what now, Mr. Jefferson?” 

“I told you to call me Mark when we are alone.” he answered, offering her a weak smile. “I’m sorry I couldn't do more. I feel like I failed you once again.” he now sounded sad. 

“You haven’t failed me once, Mark. You offered the most and more than anyone else would, and thank you for that, I really mean it.” single tear formed in Max’s eye. He wiped it with a soft movement of his hand. She cupped his hand whilst it was still on her face and placed it on her cheek. She needed some closeness now more than ever. They looked at each other for what seemed like forever. Another few tears escaped Max’s eyes and this seemed to make him sad too. 

“Shhhhh,” he whispered, “it’s okay, I’m here now and as long as you want me to be.” He kissed her and she melted away underneath his lips. 

After a moment of silence, Max asked: “Can we talk about us?” her cheeks slightly blushing. 

Mark sighed: “Yes, we need to talk about everything.” 

“So?” Max asked, turning towards him and turning all of her attention at him. 

“So...” Mark started, looking deep into her eyes (which made her blush even more): “I think I have feelings for you. I am actually quite sure I do. And I’m sorry for everything that I’ve said. I just had so much going through my mind. Being your professor and much older than you and similar. I really felt like I have used you.” 

“You haven’t!” Max answered. “You haven’t used me, not to the least bit. I wanted it with you. I had a crush on you for as long as I can remember and always daydreamed about being with you, being yours and you being mine. I shouldn’t have had run away, if I didn’t nothing of this would have had happened.” 

“It wouldn’t have happened indeed. Bit it is what it is. However, I was an asshole. You wanted to talk about this even before all these thoughts started to bother me and torture my mind, but I refused. And that was my mistake. I very well knew these thoughts bothered you too, and it was stupid of me to ignore such an issue.” he said waving his hand in explanation, his cheeks now slightly blushing. Did Max see that well? Aw. 

“Yes, I had similar thoughts to yours too, and you’re quite right when you say that thoughts were torturing. But after everything we have been through, last thing I expected to hear was that it was all one big mistake.” Max said sounding sad, remembering their last conversation. 

“I thought it was at that moment, considering everything and the reality of situation. Actually, considering the reality of the situation we shouldn’t be doing what we are doing. But here we are. We have been through so much together already, and I don’t want to let go of you. My heart broke when I saw you with Warren, I thought you moved on.” he said sheepishly. 

“Moved on from you in one afternoon? You must be joking.” Max said sounding amused. “I don’t think I could move on from you in million years, considering everything.” 

“Can you tell me openly, how do you feel about me?” he asked, his face turning serious. 

“I can tell you if you tell me how you feel about me.” she answered, blushing. 

“I made my decision. I feel something for you and I want to work on it, with you, despite everything and despite the reality of the situation.” 

“I made my decision too, I want to be with you.” Max answered. 

“But I want to hear more about what is going through your mind.” Mark pleaded: “Please tell me more, we need to come clean to each other completely.” he said expectantly. 

“I felt stupid when you saw me with Warren. I was worried about how long you were there for and what have you actually seen. Just us hanging out and having a good time? Or maybe even me crying because of you and a couple of other reasons.” 

“You cried?” Marks' facial expression turned sad. 

“Don't interrupt me for a moment at least, please. Let me get it out of my system.” Max stopped him. She took a deep breath before continuing: “I knew you thought me and Warren had a thing and that’s why I got so worried when I realised you saw us together, but I promise it was nothing but a friendly hang out. I needed a distraction after what you have said that day. I spent a lot of time trying to explain to you that I was single and didn’t have anything going on with Warren even before I relaised you liked me in the way you do.” Max took a breath. “After you have left I tried to call but you didn’t answer so I cried some more. And I cried because I thought I screwed it up all the way through with you. I thought it might be the end between us and it devastated me, almost made me feel like my heart is breaking. I remembered everything we have been through in flashes and it brought back all the emotions, fears and hopes I had and shared with and about you.” she stopped again to catch some breath again, her face blushing hard. “I have feelings for you, and I assumed you were as confused as I was. The last conversation we had before that confirmed it in a great way. Nothing of this shouldn’t have had happened, but I felt so lucky and privileged that it did. You are my lecturer, my professor in the end, and a person of a really high status with a position and image to protect. That crush I had on you turned into something else. Is it love? I’m not sure, but I’m definitely in love with you. I remembered all the things and compliments you would tell me and those always make my knees feel weak and my head sway, like no one ever managed to make me feel before. I want something with you and I want to work on it. Eh, not just something. I want everything with you. It’s like you just know what I want and what I need and it’s just perfect. You remembered to fill your fridge with veggies for me and you know the way I like my coffee and my tea. It’s the small things that get me. I’m your Maxine.” she concluded. 

Mark indeed did blush listening to all that Max was saying, his eyes sparkling and a satisfied and gentle smile painted across his face. “When I am with you, the rest of the world just slowly fades away.” he said. “Then it’s settled, you’re my Maxine, just mine.” 

“Just yours.” she repeated after him, her cheeks warm and a big smile on her face painted her satisfaction. 

“I almost forgot,” he said slamming his forehead, “ I got you a doctors notice giving you one week off of school!” 

“Aw that is amazing, thank you!” 

“Where do you want to spend your week?” Mark asked, looking at her carefully with big sparks in his eyes. 

Max smiled and said: “With you, of course. I will call my friends and let them know I’m ill and went to visit my parents. No one needs to know where I am.” 

“Brilliant!” he said and stood up, walked towards her and pulled her up by her arm. He gave her a small hug knowing she had bruises, so he was gentle not to hurt her. He looked deep into her blue eyes and she gazed back at his deep brown sparkling eyes. He lowered his lips to hers. 

“Everything will be okay.” he whispered to her ear.


	15. Chapter 15

___oOo___

Nathan Prescott punched her at the side of her head, making her go dizzy and unable to even try and lift her feet to fight anymore. She could have sworn that she lost her conciseness for a quick moment and when she came back to it, Nathan was pulling at her trousers. 

“N-no!” she managed, trying to gather her mental clarity and strength back from all the dizziness and sickness she felt. 

“I will ruin you for him!” he hissed at her, now her trousers were below her knees and his hands were trying to fight her own to take her panties off. 

“N-NO!” she screamed. Nathan punched her in the stomach and she found herself completely winded out, trying to catch some breath. 

Nathan stood up above her and pulled out something and held it in his hand with a malicious grin on his face, she couldn’t say what it was due to the darkness and confusion and fear she felt. 

Max felt a sting to her neck from whatever Nathan was holding in his hand. It was painful and she tried to scream and fight again but she felt herself falling into a big nothingness. “M-Mark!” She managed. Max tried to fight by swaying her arms and legs but the instant feeling of complete weakness and paralysis started to overtake her. 

“I’ll ruin you for him and then he will be just mine! It is a dark room for you, Max!” Nathan hissed at her ear. 

All she felt was her head slowly spinning into a dark vortex of a black void. 

Max woke up from her nightmare feeling breathless, covered with cold sweat. “Mark!” she called out, scared and confused. 

“What is it?” he managed, slowly waking up. 

“I just had the worst nightmare! I dreamt that Nathan Prescott did something to me and he said he would ruin me for you and that you would be just his!” 

“Shhh,” Mak said and pulled her to him in a cuddle: “it’s just a bad dream. You don’t like Nathan and told me about the weird encounters you had with him. I also told you about the issues I had with him. No wonder your brain is trying to blame someone who you don’t like and who has harmed you before in a way too. It is okay, it was just a bad nightmare.” He gave her a kiss. “Try and go back to sleep, it’s 3 AM...” he said and yawned, pulling her even closer to him. 

She already felt more relaxed. What Mark was saying must have been true. She did indeed have bad experiences with Nathan and she saw him on that day. And it’s true that she wants to find someone to blame for all of this, and Nathan seemed like a perfect one to be blamed considering everything he has done to her and told her before. Also, Mark told her about the problems he had with him and Dana filled her in with some information that confirmed Mark’s story. It was just her imagination playing tricks on her. Nevertheless, Nathan’s words from dream echoed through her head; “I’ll ruin you for him and then he will be just mine! It is a dark room for you, Max!”. The dark room, ruin... She slowly fell into a slumber. 

Cuddles were warm and made the night even sweeter. Max felt occasional discomfort or pain but she made sure to notify Mark of that so that they could change positions. It wasn’t easy to be as bruised as she was. But she didn’t mind too much. She usually bruised easily but bruises also went away quickly. So she wasn’t worried too much about them. She already found it easier to breathe and to lie down. Even cuddles weren’t all that painful or bad, rather sweet and they made her feel like she could melt away in deep slumber, which she did. 

She wasn’t happy when Mark woke her up with a kiss. Not because of the kiss, but because he didn’t have a week off of school like she did, and he kissed her goodbye for the part of the day. He was a professor and had to attend his lectures. He promised to be back as soon as it would be possible as he only had three lectures and a meeting, so he shouldn’t be too long. Mark took his leave and Max went back to sleep. She still felt so exhausted. Being drugged and starved wasn’t easy. 

She woke up from deep sleep sometimes in the early afternoon, feeling somewhat refreshed. She made her way to Mark’s toilet. She took all of her clothes off and looked herself in the mirror. Some of the bruises were already fading away, not all of them obviously. Some were still black and purple and quite painful. Especially around her ribs. She stared at herself in the mirror, and the longer she stared the fatter she felt and the fatter she saw herself in the mirror. Nonsense; she thought to herself. She saw herself clearly in the mirror just yesterday and now she was aware that she was sickly thin. Her mind must play tricks on her, some wicked and twisted tricks. She decided to ignore it and to hop into the shower. Warm water helped her muscles relax which helped with bruising pains. Anxiety releasing shower, just what she needed. Especially after everything that had happened. 

After a shower, she dressed in the same oversized Mark’s clothes from yesterday and sat on the bed. What to do; she thought; everyone has lectures at the moment, I could sneak into my dorm room and get some clothes. But she looked ridiculous in Mark’s clothes. Also, if someone saw her it would be obvious she was wearing Mr. Jefferson’s clothes. Instead, she picked up her phone and sent a message to Kate: “Kate, I need a big favour from you! I’m ill and will be going to visit my parents today, could you pack up some of my things and bring it over to the bus stop at the Arcadia Bay?”. Message sent. It was probably not the smartest thing to send such a message, but she didn’t really have any choice. Now she had to think of a good reason why she couldn’t do it herself and why is she in Arcadia Bay if she feels ill. 

“Sure! I’ll be there in three to four hours, I will let you know when I’m on the way. But where are you by the way?” message arrived from Kate shortly after. It was time for a big brain moment. Max was supposed to think of a good reason where she is and why, and she better think of one soon. She could feel her brain working on the solution but her thought still felt somewhat distant. 

“I will explain everything when I see you.” she said instead. Screw it; Max thought; Kate is smart and she saw the way she was looking at her and Mark, she knows something is up. She could just as well come clean to her, and explain everything that has happened. After all, Kate did insist for them to be closer than they are, to share all their secrets, or rather for them to have no secrets in between each other. And she knew Kate would take this secret to the grave. 

Okay, so she has some time before meeting up with Kate and before Mark comes back. What to do? Max opened Mark’s closed and closely inspected it. All of his clothes looked like they would suit him so well, as they always did. Most of his clothes were formal and he only had a few pieces of casual clothing. Some jeans too aside from all the suit trousers. A formal person indeed, it goes well with his image. She next moved to the hallway in front of his room. There was a shelf leaned on the wall and all books were in neat order. Max picked out one book after the other and gave them a quick shuffle. They were all about photography and art. It was obvious that they would be; she thought. 

At that moment her stomach started to rumble so she made her way downstairs to the kitchen. The open plan of the living space felt so good. It was a sunny day so plenty of natural light came in through the windows. She opened the fridge and found a few microwave vegan meals neatly stuffed on the shelf. Aw, he really thought about me; Max thought to herself, feeling like her heart could melt from the warmth and appreciation she felt towards Mark at that moment. She promptly chucked her meal in the microwave and waited. Those five minutes were the longest five minutes of her life. Her stomach continued to rumble louder and louder and her mouth started to water up. She was starving. Too bad her meal was piping hot once it was out of the microwave, it meant she had to wait even longer to be able to dig in. But when she finally could, she really did dig in and finished her meal as fast as possible. Most would consider it slow, but her stomach was tiny and she could eat only so fast. However, meal didn’t seem to satisfy her so she returned to the fridge. There were some eggs in there and she decided to boil some of them. She felt like she could die from starvation as she waited for her eggs, god was she hungry. Absolutely starving. She never felt this hungry in her entire life. Once her three eggs were hard-boiled, she cooled them down in cold water to allow her to eat them straight away. She felt slightly better afterward, maybe she missed protein, and eggs were exactly what she needed. 

She looked at the clock and there was still another hour left before she would meet up with Kate. So she slowly washed the dishes hoping it would fast forward the time she had left. She felt anxious abut coming clean to Kate, or to anyone in that matter. This sort of relationship was prohibited but she knew that Kate had her suspicions about the whole situation. She would notice Max sneaking in late in her dorm room, she noticed that her and Mark spoke a lot before and after the class. Kate knew that Mark showed interest in Max’s well being by asking a bunch of questions about her. Kate was smart enough to know at least that there was some sort of crush involved in between the two of them. 

Max approached Mark’s art displayed on the wall. She found herself gazing into the black and white photographs, as it was Mark’s signature. The eyes of the models attracted most of her attention. There was something about them, but she couldn’t really say what. All of the model's eyes seemed like they were hiding some sort of secret, which secret she did not know, but she wanted to. They almost seemed haunting but innocent in a way, maybe corrupted? She was unsure. Either way, she highly admired his art and his style, she hasn’t seen many photographers doing the same or a similar thing to this. It was original in its own way. Max found herself lost in the eyes of the models and wasn’t sure how long she spent there, staring at them as they stared back at her. 

The front door opened and it was Mark coming back from his day of work. 

“Hey!” he called out. Max rushed in and gave him a huge hug. He returned only partially due to her bruising. They shared a deep, sweet kiss right there and then. She noticed he was carrying a bag with him and inquired about what it was. 

“It’s some of your things. Kate gave them to me. Did you tell her?” he asked, looking worried and aghast. 

“No, I haven’t told her a thing. I wanted to. We were supposed to meet soon and she was supposed to bring me my stuff. I was going to come clean to her then.” Max answered confused, taking the bag in her hands. 

“Why would you tell her? We need to keep ourselves to ourselves.” Mark concluded. 

“Because she is my best friend, and I know that she knows something. And I know Kate, she would take this secret to the grave. Also, I had no better explanation of why was I out of the school, ill, and in Arcadia Bay for a couple of days.” 

“That is true…” He said after a moment of consideration. “Okay, it is what it is now. I haven’t said a thing when she handed me your things, and I don’t plan to tell her anything. She only said to take good care of you whilst we are at it and we both blushed.” he admitted. 

Max couldn’t help herself but to laugh and giggle about the whole situation. Bless Kate, she was super nice and this was super funny. Bold of her to assume what was happening too, but as she thought, Kate knew something was up. 

“Shut up, it’s not funny!” he said and playfully pushed her shoulder to make her stop, a wide grin on his face, giggling himself. 

“Okay, we have one person that knows, now we keep it to ourselves. Kate knowing maybe isn’t that much of a bad thing.” 

“Maybe it is maybe it isn’t. I’ll have to trust your judgment on her loyalty and hope it all stays in between the three of us. I couldn’t believe it when she told me to take care of you whilst we are at it!” he laughed, and Max followed again. It was absurd. 

“Anyway, I’m starving. Are you hungry?” Mark asked when he was done laughing, wiping a single joy tear out of his eye. 

“I could eat’” Max said. She felt full but still hungry. “Not a lot though, I had one of those microwave meals recently.” 

“I’ll make us something, don’t you worry.” 

Mark’s cooking was good, very good actually. Although max felt almost stuffed, she still managed to eat a small portion of pasta with veggie sauce. All of a sudden, she felt exhausted, due to eating so much most probably. She yawned. 

“Someone is tired!” Mark exclaimed with an amused look on his face. “I’m tired too, we could go and take a nap.” 

“We could!” Max agreed. 

___ 

Mark woke up Max from the nap with kisses. She moaned slightly to unexpected waking up in such a sweet way. She returned a kiss but Mark didn’t stop there. He continued kissing her sweetly, slowly moving down her neck. He was pressed to her back since she slept on her side. He slowly traced her whole side with his hand, from her shoulder down over her back side to her hip where he stopped his hand and started groping her. She moaned in pleasure, now slightly more awake and feeling excited. She could feel that he was excited too, his bulge pressed to her bottom. His hand slowly found its way back up to her breast whilst his lips slowly munched and kissed around her ears. Goosebumps overflew Max in unexpected pleasure and she slowly and softly moaned. 

His hand expertly moved from her breasts over her stomach to her inner thighs and she moaned louder. She wanted him so bad in that moment, and it was obvious he wanted her at that moment too. He slowly but surely sneaked his hand inside her panties and slowly started rubbing her now very aroused spot. Electrical waves of pleasure started to circulate Max’s body. She was still sleepy (although more awake than recently) so she decided to let him do all the work. He seemed more than happy to do so. After a while of touching her aroused spot, he grabbed her and turned her to her back. He promptly took off her shirt (which was actually his since she still hasn’t changed her clothing) and chucked it on the side. Max blushed and closed her eyes. Mark held himself above her, using his knee to separate her own knees so that he could place himself in between them. 

He continued kissing her, and tracing her neck with his lips whilst his hands expertly worked on getting rid of Max’s trousers and panties. She was naked in front of him, just a bra covered her breasts. He stopped for a moment and took a long look at her. She blushed like never before, she never felt so exposed in front of anyone like she did right now in front of him. He looked at her bruises, slowly tracing them with his hands, serious look on his face. 

“Are you okay?” he asked. 

“Mhm.” she managed before releasing another moan as his hands now rubbed her inner thighs. Mark removed his shirt and trousers and kneeled above her with just his boxers on, his bulge very visible and stiff. He leaned down and gave Max one more kiss. He then promptly took a pillow and told her to put it underneath her bottom, which she did, still blushing as she felt even more exposed to him now. He took of his boxers and Max closed her eyes. Mark placed himself in between her knees once again and reached for the lubricant in his nightstand. He made a couple of jerk movements as he applied it to his length. He then prompted himself with his hands above Max, afraid to lie on her due to her bruises and decided that this position will do. 

He painfully slowly entered her warmth, grunting at realisation how wet she already was and how tight she was for him. Max released a loud moan. Once his length was in he stopped for a moment, not moving a muscle. She needed him so bad right now so she started to sway her own hips to create friction. Mark giggled to this and leaned down to give her a sweet kiss. 

“Patience, my dear.” he told her. But she couldn’t stop, it felt so good. The pleasure continued to pulsate through her body as she swayed her hips and Mark just watched her amused, releasing occasional grunts himself. 

Max upped her tempo and that was when mark lost it. He grabbed her hips with his hands and pressed them down to unable her to keep on moving and quickly found his rhythm of going in and out of her, bot of them grunting and moaning with pleasure. The whole bed shook and creaked under their efforts. It wasn’t long for either of them to reach their climax and as Max constricted around his length he pulled out and released his juice on her tummy. 

But he wasn’t done yet, his hunger for her was so big that he couldn’t make himself stop. He quickly turned her to her side and lifted one of her legs up. His length was still stiff and ready to go for a second time. He entered her from behind, both of them lying on their sides now and continued plowing hard into her warmth. His length couldn’t fit all the way from this position, but Max seemed to enjoy it very much. Instead of moans, loud screams of pleasure now echoed through the room. He went in and out as fast and hard as he could, occasionally slowing down and pulling his length all the way out to insert it back in painfully slowly. Max seemed to like that a lot so he tired his best to do it as often as possible, but his hunger for her made it hard to do so. Max reached another climax and her legs started shaking. Mark took this as a sign to finish himself off so he put Max’s needs to the side for a moment and found an extremely fast and hard rhythm, making her scream even louder, maybe even slightly in pain. This made him cum, and he did it on her inner thigh. 

They both gasped, turning to their backs and trying to catch their breath. It took them a while, after all this was two times in a row for a Mark and Max climaxed three times. They were once more exhausted. They hugged, still naked and continued trying to catch their breath. 

“I’m sorry.” he said. 

“For what?” Max asked confused. 

“I didn’t wipe before the second time… Maybe we should consider getting you a morning after pill?” 

“Hmmm.” Max thought. “Maybe.”


	16. Chapter 16

___oOo___ 

The week finished sooner than Max hoped and Mark left her a few blocks away from her dorm room. She had an amazing week with him and she felt so sad to leave, almost like her heart could break. He gave her a sad kiss goodbye and promised they would spend the weekend together again before he went on his way. It was Sunday morning and Max needed to hurry back up to her dorm in order to catch up on any missed schoolwork. She didn’t have much time, and she has surely and probably missed a lot. Kate didn’t send her her laptop so she was expecting to be super busy. 

Max entered her room and was lucky not to see anyone in the hallway. She dropped her things on the floor and decided to give them a wash later. She promptly sat at her laptop and opened all of her school work and timetables of her assignments. Yikes, she had so much work to do. Without a second thought, she got into it and spent so much time catching up with all of her reading. She also started up an essay that was supposed to be due by the end of the week. As the time approached midnight, she started to feel tired and decided to take a break. She could go for a run, she thought. But it was raining outside so instead, she decided to go for a shower (she was very tired, maybe too tired for a run). 

She saw Victoria in the hallway and Victoria only gave her an ugly look. She was whispering something to her friends and Max couldn’t help but to eavesdrop as she passed by. Victoria was bragging about her entry photo for Everyday Heroes Contest. She had a copy in her hand but did her best to hide it from Max’s gaze as she passed by. Yikes; Max though; I’m still to take my photo, and I bet with myself that I can’t beat Victoria. Which was a shame. The one who would win would get a week in San Francisco with Mr. Jefferson and she wanted that more than anything else. To be honest, it gave her a great idea, hoping that this would get her a win. She was big on selfies, and she had loads of interesting moment in the moment photos on her wall, some of them looking quite everyday heroic. She was going to take a photograph of herself from her back in front of all of her work, neatly displayed on the wall. Max hoped this would be good enough to grant her a win. Also, Mark was the one who was choosing the winner, so she hoped that their little secret would help her at winning that contest too. It was an opportunity of a lifetime, and she wasn’t going to let it go to waste, no matter how anxious she felt about it. Mark did tell her that the difference between amateur and pro is their willingness to share their work with the world, and she remembered those words with great clarity. In this way, she could share her style and her whole work in one go. 

The hot shower was exactly what she needed. She felt refreshed and rejuvenated afterward and made a way back to her room. She saw Kate in the hallway and once Kate spotted her, she motioned for Max to enter her room. So there she was, with Kate in Kate’s room. 

“Sup?” Kate asked with a wide and malicious smile on her face. 

“What do you mean, sup?” Max asked, knowing well enough what Kate had on her mind. 

“You know what I mean.” She said and smiled. Max smiled back and that was enough for Kate to confirm her suspicions. “I’m happy for you! Just be careful! I mean, you know everything, I don’t have to tell you a thing hehe.” Kate said sounding content. 

“It’s going well, you know. We’re having an amazing time. Neither of us thought something like this could ever happen. But I would prefer not to talk about it here, maybe next time when we go for another cup of tea and piece of cake?” 

“Of course!” Kate said with understanding. “It’s definitely not the smartest idea to talk about it here, these walls have ears...” 

After a moment of silence and consideration, Max said: “I wanted to ask you something though. I wasn’t ill as in sick you know. Something happened to me.” she said and Kate’s face turned serious. 

“What happened?” Kate asked in a whisper, sounding worried. 

Max took a moment to form the sentence in her head. “How did it feel like when you were drugged?” she asked after anxiety has lowered a bit. She felt guilty to bring back these bad memories to Kate’s mind. 

“Oh. Well,” Kate started and continued in a whisper, “I felt paralysed, and all of my limbs were just so heavy. I also had the hugest headache afterward, it wasn’t pleasant at all. Why do you ask?” 

“Because I was drugged too.” Max came clean to Kate. “And it felt exactly the same. Just, I couldn’t remember anything that happened as well.” 

“Me neither, it screwed up my memory of a few days around that time, memories still feel fuzzy to this day... Who drugged you?” Kate asked, sounding both worried and angry, still keeping her voice low. 

“I don’t know. But if it is the same drug that has been used on you, then...” 

“Then it could be Nathan Prescott.” Kate interrupted, looking thoughtfully in the distance. “Do you think it might have had been him?” 

“I don’t know, I don’t remember.” Max said. “But I did have a dream where he did it to me.” 

“I also had dreams of him doing... things.... to me. After the drug left my system I believe. Maybe it was him, for both of us?” she asked, still keeping her voice low. 

“And maybe we just want to blame someone. We know for sure that Nathan did something to you, but it’s too farfetched to say if he did anything to me. I hope I’ll remember one day...” Max said, lost in the thought. 

“Well, try your hardest to remember. It took me a while to remember, but I do remember seeing Nathan slip something into my drink that night. So there is no question that he did it to me...” Kate said. “Don’t try too hard thought, otherwise your memories will get even fuzzier. Did Mr. -ekhem- took good care of you?” she asked, lowering her voice even more now. 

“Yes, he did. And he did an amazing job, to be honest with you. I felt so safe and secure, it was nice. He was there every step of the time.” Max whispered back. 

___ 

Max was again in her room all alone. It was the time; she thought to herself; time to weight myself. She slowly pulled out her weighting scale from its secret hiding place and placed it on the floor. She turned around and locked her door. Slowly but surely, she undressed in front of her mirror. Some of the bruises were still visible but most of them were gone now. She traced her chest bones and collarbones with her fingers, slowly shaking as she felt cold. Not just cold thought, she felt scared as well. She turned to her side and looked at her ribs. They were quite prominent now without her even having to raise her arms. Her stomach was flat (she couldn’t even see that one small fat roll she used to be able to see). Once again, she felt like she could see herself with the immanent clarity. Her hip bones were out there too and her tights did not touch when she kept her feet together. Damn; she thought; I look, well, ill. I don’t look good at all. She sighed and turned towards her weighing scale. Once again, naked and scared she placed her feet on it and closed her eyes. She could feel panic setting in so she tried to slow down her breathing and continued to count her breaths in and breaths out as she kept her eyes closed. 

She opened her eyes once she calmed down a bit. 90lbs the scale said. Max’s eyes widened in shock. She knew she was eating little but she thought she was eating a lot more lately, or just enough not to lose any more weight. She never wanted to get this low. She quickly pulled her phone out to calculate her BMI. 14.98 it said. Her head felt dizzy and her legs started to shake. She quickly got into her bed and hid under her cover, tossing her phone away. She started to cry; why, oh why is this happening to me. I was doing so good and then something happened and I, I just don’t know! I lost myself in this, it took over me. It kept on lying that I was fat and worthless. I thought I was in control, but this thing, whatever it is, it is controlling me. With this BMI I’m so far from being at normal weight and that it’s so scary. I was aiming to be between BMI 19 and 20, not under fucking 15! 

You still have work to do; the voice in her head told her; you’re still fat and unworthy of food. Food will make you fat and all of this will be for nothing if you give up now. 

Shut up; Max answered to the thought; I am too skinny, I don’t want to do this anymore. I have had enough! I want to get better, I want to be better! I’m sick of feeling constantly cold, I’m sick of feeling dizzy and faint, I’m sick of feeling like my step counting watch is a personal prison for me! I want it all to stop, I want it all to end now! 

You cannot stop now!; the voice in her head continued; And if you do, I will make your life hell. You will have 300 calories a day from now on and you will up your steps to twenty thousand a day at least! 

No, I won’t!; Max continued; My legs are aching the way it is, I get so winded I can barely walk normally! I have no energy what so ever! You’re eating my life away! Go away and leave me alone! I won’t listen to you any longer! 

Yes, yes you will. Otherwise, as I said, I will make your life hell.; the voice continued. 

You already made my life hell! I am long past my goal weight and I don’t intend to go any lower! Imagine what my parents would say! Kate and Mark and Warren are all worried about me and I know it for a fact. The way they look at me is heartbreaking! Everyone is whispering behind my back and I’m not having any more of that! Leave me alone! Be gone thoughts! 

And with that, no more thoughts came back to whisper to Max. But she knew they wouldn’t leave her alone just like that. This would be a fight. Maybe the biggest fight she had ever had in her life. 

That is it; she thought; from now on I’m eating normally, I am eating whenever I'm hungry and I'm eating until I feel full. 

She took a look at her watch on her wrist and took it off. She got up, almost fainting as she stood up too fast and decided to put her PJ’s on since it was already late and time for her to go to bed. She held her watch and stared at it. She didn’t do her ten thousand steps today and for the first time she was glad she didn’t. She approached her bin and continued to stare at her watch. It's now or never; she thought. She dropped it into her bin, making sure it fell below the rest of the garbage; out of sight, out of mind; she told herself. 

She felt hungry now, thanks to Mark’s cooking and more or less regular eating in the past week. She looked around her room and remembered that she brought a bunch of snacks some time ago and quickly went to find them. They were neatly stashed in one of her drawers and she pulled out crisps. Exactly what she wanted and felt like she needed. She ate it slowly, tears coming up her eyes. She had to eat it, but the thoughts didn’t lie, they would make it hard for her. They would make her regret every piece of food that she puts in her mouth, and they were doing it now too. Fuck off; she told them but to no avail, thoughts continued to lie and whisper horrendous things to her. 

___ 

Nathan Prescott punched her at the side of her head, making her go dizzy and unable to even try and lift her feet to fight anymore. She could have sworn that she lost her conciseness for a quick moment and when she came back to it, Nathan was pulling at her trousers. 

“N-no!” she managed, trying to gather her mental clarity and strength back from all the dizziness and sickness she felt. 

“I will ruin you for him!” he hissed at her, now her trousers were below her knees and his hands were trying to fight her own to take her panties off. 

“N-NO!” she screamed. Nathan punched her in the stomach and she found herself completely winded out, trying to catch some breath. 

He stood up above her and pulled out a syringe with a needle and held it in his hand with a malicious grin on his face, she couldn’t say for sure what she saw due to the darkness and confusion. Fear was all she felt. 

Max felt a sting to her neck. It was painful and she tried to scream and fight again but she felt herself falling into a big nothingness. “M-Mark!” She managed. Max tried to fight by swaying her arms and legs but the instant feeling of complete weakness and paralysis started to overtake her. 

“I’ll ruin you for him and then he will be just mine! It is a dark room for you, Max, the same as it was for Rachel and Kate!” Nathan hissed at her ear. 

All she felt was her head slowly spinning into a dark vortex of a black void. 

Max woke up from her nightmare feeling breathless, covered with cold sweat. “M-Mark!” she called out, scared and confused. 

This time there was no Mark to calm her down. Words once again echoed in her head; “I’ll ruin you for him and then he will be just mine! It is a dark room for you, Max, same as it was for Rachel and Kate!”. 

Rachel. Kate. These were new pieces of information. Her dream gave her shivers, it was the same one she had almost a week ago. Maybe Kate was right, maybe it was Nathan Prescott’s doing and maybe this was the way her memories were coming back. But then again, maybe Mark was more correct. Maybe it was all her wanting to blame Nathan since of what he did to Kate and because of encounters she had with him, which were all but pleasant. Oh, how she wished she could remember what happened. She remembered the number of a therapist that Ian gave to her and gave it a quick thought, maybe she could really contact the therapist and work on remembering. If it was Nathan, she needed to know. And if it was true of what he was saying, both Kate and Rachel, maybe he was the one responsible for Rachel’s disappearance. 

Monday morning slowly crept in and she still had some time before her lectures started. It was another beautiful day and with the first light of the morning she decided to take her entry photograph for Everyday Heroes Contest. The light was entering her room just perfectly, in just a perfect angle. She promptly tidied herself up and started to play around with her photos on the wall, changing were some of them were and tidying them up neatly. Making sure that everyday heroes were more visible from the side as she was going to be in the middle of the photograph. 

She placed her polaroid camera on a stand and spent some time trying to find a perfect angle. She turned on her christmas lights that were hanging above her photographs and continued trying to find the perfect position. It was now or never, she thought. Today was the last day she could make an entry for the contest. 

She placed herself in front of the camera, turning her back to it, and waited for 5 seconds to run out until she heard a loud click. She checked her photo but wasn’t happy with it. She proceeded to do the same routine a few times and took quite a lot of photos until she was finally happy with the results. This will do; she happily thought to herself; this is my entry photograph.


	17. Chapter 17

___oOo___ 

Max found herself daydreaming about Mark in the class. She traced his collarbones hungrily with her eyes and just overall felt like she could drool over him. But she had to get her act together, she noticed him noticing her and he slightly blushed. They shouldn’t play in the class. She shook her head and returned to the participating in the lecture. 

“So, the basic principles of photography.” Mr. Jefferson continued his lecture: “The dark room comes from the Latin words Camera Obscura. That is when light passes through a small hole and produces an inverted image on the opposite wall. It was used by Leonardo DaVinci in the 15th century for true life sketching and was used to safely observe the solar eclipse by Alhazen in the 10th century and Bacon in the 13th century. Instead of using walls to create dark room, Johannes Kepler created a tent Camera Obscura where the artist was hidden below the dark tent, creating a dark room. This was in 1604. Canaletto furthered Kepler’s work and used his own box-shaped dark room in 18th century.” he explained waving his hands. “The first photo was taken by Joseph Niepce in 1825. where he captured light-sensitive silver chloride plates. And the first production camera was Daguerreotype. Can anyone tell me about daguerreotype?” Mr. Jefferson asked his class. 

Victoria answered: “Louis Daguerre was a French painter who created daguerreotypes which was a process that gave portraits a sharp reflective style, like a mirror.” 

Very good, Victoria!” Mr. Jefferson said. Bah; Max thought. I did read it last night, why haven’t I answered on that question? Mr. Jefferson continued: "The Daguerreian Process brought out fine detail in people's faces, making them extremely popular from the 1800's onward. The first American daguerreotype self-portrait was done by Robert Cornelius. You can find out all about him... In your textbook.” He said and sat down on a table across Max, “Or even... online.” He took a pause. “Now before we run out of the time, guys, don't forget that tomorrow is the deadline to submit a photo for the Everyday Heroes Contest. I'll fly out with the winner to San Francisco where you'll be feted by the art world. It's great exposure, and it can kickstart a career in photography. So, Stella and Alyssa, get it together. Taylor, don't hide. I'm still waiting for your entry, too. And yes, Max, I see you pretending not to see me.” He added, looking her dead in the eye. It send shivers down her spine and she slightly blushed. 

As soon as the bell rang (and everyone was out of the classroom), Victoria was on Mr. Jefferson’s case. She doesn’t waste a second kissing ass; Max thought to herself. 

“Yes, Victoria, you still have to do your homework this week,” he told her, “even if you have already submitted your photo for the competition. Everybody in this class is turning in a photo, so you see the dilemma.” he told her, keeping his arms crossed. 

“I know, Mr. Jefferson. I just worked so hard on this shot, and I'm sure you know what it's like to be consumed by your work. I just really think Everyday Heroes Contest is an important cultural event and I want to represent Blackwell Academy.” Victoria said. 

"You have just by participating! By putting yourself out there in the world! Well, no matter who wins, this is just a bump on a bigger road. I don't want anybody to feel excluded from this process. But I also want everybody to know that this photographic world is not for everybody. I had my moment in the camera eye and everybody should have that chance, right?” Mr. Jefferson told her, uncrossing his arms. 

“Oh, totally. I only want to share whatever gifts I have with the world...” 

Max approached Victoria and Mark and sheepishly said: “Excuse me, Mr. Jefferson. Do you have a moment?” 

“Of course!” he answered. “We will talk more later, Victoria” he dismissed her. “I'd never let one of photography's future stars avoid handing in her picture.“ he told to Max as Victoria was taking her leave, giving them uncertain look. 

“I have a photo ready.” Max said, feeling anxious but also proud of it in a way. 

“Brilliant!” Mr. Jefferson responded, seeming to beam with proudness. “Hand it over then!” he said offering his hand to Max. 

She gave him her envelope and he proudly took it into his hand: “I knew you wouldn’t let this opportunity go to waste!” he said, raising his brows in happiness. 

“Of course I wouldn’t, we already spoke about it.” she answered, feeling somewhat less anxious. 

Mark waved her envelope, gazing at it before placing it on the table with the rest of the envelopes from other participants. “It won’t be long now until we have a winner. I can’t wait to see your work.” he told her and gave her a quick kiss since they were completely alone in the classroom, and there was no one in the hallway too. The kiss was so quick that all the emotions washed over Max once he already stepped away. She melted away from the classroom considering the class was over and she had just so much time for her break and before her next lecture. 

She felt her anxiety rising due to the lunch break. She was supposed to eat something but she felt like she could have a meltdown. She promised herself she would fight this but she definitely needed a moment to herself before digging into her lunch. So instead of going to the canteen, she took a turn to the toilet. 

Empty, good. Nobody can see my meltdown. Except for me; she thought to herself. She took a deep breath and walked up to a mirror. One of the mirrors had mustaches, glasses and emperors crown drawn on it by a big black marker. Max traced it with her fingers. She didn’t feel well. Aside from eating, or not eating, memories of her dream started to haunt her. Nathan Prescott; she thought; I wonder… She felt like she was going crazy. 

She quickly splashed her face with some cold water to bring herself back to reality; just relax and stop torturing yourself, she told herself. As the cool water slowly dripped down her face, she already felt slightly better. 

Something drew her attention. It was a butterfly, a blue butterfly flying down on the other end of the bathroom. She looked after him in wonder, she never saw such beautiful blue wings. She followed it to the bottom of the bathroom behind the last stall where the butterfly sat on the gray bucket. Okay, girl, you don’t get a photo opportunity like this every day; she thought to herself and brought out her camera. She wondered where did it come from, but she had no time to dwell on it as she tried to find a good angle to take her shot. Butterfly didn’t look like any kind she has seen before. Its blue wings were practically glowing and Max could feel special energy coming from it, butterfly almost felt like a spirit. Yup, I must be going crazy; she thought to herself. 

She heard the door open and nervous steps approaching her, checking every bathroom stall in the process. She quickly hid in the corner, hoping that whoever walked in wouldn’t check the back of the female bathroom. Once steps calmed down, she slowly prompted her head behind the corner to see who it was, hoping they wouldn’t notice her. To her shock, it was Nathan Prescott (and luckily, he was too busy looking at himself in the mirror to notice her). He looked pale and very nervous. 

“It’s cool, Nathan... Don’t stress!” He talked to himself: “ You’re okay, bro. Just count to three!” He took a deep breath and leaned on one of the sinks. “Don’t be scared...” he continued talking to himself: “You own this school. If I wanted, I could blow it up, I’m the boss!” 

Bathroom door opened again and a girl Max never saw before entered. She had beany covering her blue hair and was wearing a black jacket over her white punk shirt with a long neckless covering her open chest. 

“So what do you want?!” Nathan asked her, still seeming quite nervous but not moving away from the sink he was leaning on. 

“I hope you check the perimeter, as my step-ass would say.” The girl said, checking the stalls again. Once she was happy with her search, she continued: “Now, let’s talk business.” 

“I’ve got nothing for you.” Nathan said in an angry voice 

“Wrong!” Girl answered. “You got hella cash!” 

“That’s my family, not me.” Nathan answered. Max covered and hid in the corner behind the cleaning equipment, listening to their conversation. 

“Oh boo-hoo, poor little rich kid.” The girl said. “I know you’ve been pumping drugs and shit to kids around here. I bet your respectable family would help me out if I went to them. Man, I can see the headlines now.” the girl said with a mocking tone of her voice. 

“Leave them out of this, bitch!” Nathan said sounding very angry and nervous again. 

“I can tell everybody Nathan Prescott is a punk ass who begs like a little girl and talks to himself and-” 

“You don’t know who the fuck am I or who are you messing around with!” He interrupted her, now sounding very angry and impatient. 

“Where did you get that? What are you doing? Come on, put that thing down!” Max heard the girl saying, now sounding very scared and worried herself. She prompted her head behind a corner again to take a better look. She opened her mouth in disbelief when she saw that Nathan was holding a gun. 

Nathan cornered the girl up to a door and screamed at her: “Don’t ever tell me what to do! I’m so sick of people trying to control me!” 

“You are going to get in hella more trouble for this than drugs-” the girl said, her face pale and painted with fear. 

“Nobody would ever even miss your punk ass, would they?” Nathan continued, interrupting her again, like he didn’t hear what the girl had just said. 

“Get that gun away from me you psycho!” The girl screamed and pushed Nathan away. At that exact moment the gun went off and with a big bang, the girl fell on the floor, motionless. Nathan dropped the gun and freaked out. Just a second later, he was bolting through the door. 

“No!” Max yelled, but she was sure that Nathan hasn’t heard her. He was already gone. Max panicked and run to the girl. She quickly looked at her motionless body and checked for her pulse. There was none that she could feel. She ran out of the bathroom and pulled the emergency alarm. The fire alarm rang through to school and very soon a bunch of students were leaving the building accompanied with their lecturers, looking around dazzled and wondering what was going on. Maybe it was just another practice or a prank. Or maybe something indeed did happen this time. 

“Come on Max, we need to evacuate!” Mark said passing next to her. Max felt great relief to see him out of the all the other lecturers and grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the female bathroom. 

“What in the hell are you-” he started but he was at a loss of words when he saw what took place in the bathroom. 

“Max, what happened?!” He asked promptly and found himself panicking too. He leaned above the girl and checked her pulse. The poor girl laid in a pool of blood. 

“Nathan Prescott!” is all she managed. Mark roughly pulled her by the arm outside of the bathroom and told her to wait there before rushing off outside. 

Not a long moment later whole school staff came running in, Mr. Madsen (the security guard) leading the group. Mark tried to stop Mr. Madsen before he entered the bathroom, but he couldn’t. 

Max heard a scream like never before. Mr. Madsen was in there alone and the rest of them were waiting outside. Questions kept arising from the staff and the principal took a look inside the bathroom before closing the door. 

“Jefferson, call the police.” the principal told him very seriously. “And you, what are you doing here?” he turned toward Max. 

“I saw everything.” Max said, shaking. 

“What happened?” the principal asked her. 

“Nathan Prescott-” is all she managed before hearing cries from the bathroom. 

Mr. Madsen was crying and calling out: “This isn’t happening! It can’t... No, God! Not Chloe! I promised Joyce that I would protect her and Chloe! How can I face her and explain this? I never even told Chloe that I... I... Goddamnit!!!” 

Mr. Madsen came out of the bathroom, covered in blood: “Who killed my wife's child?! Who took away my step daughter?” Asking with his eyes still full of tears and with disbelief and pain like she never saw before painted across his face. 

Max’s whole body shook. Chloe, Joyce. Oh god no, it couldn’t be Chloe. Her childhood best friend? She didn’t even recognise her! It couldn’t be! It couldn’t be, no way! Max fell onto the ground and tears started streaming down her face, soft sobs escaping her mouth. She couldn’t believe it. It just couldn’t be. If only she could go back in time, if only she stepped in, none of this would have had happened! She failed her! She failed her so badly! 

“Get her to my office” the principal said to Mr. Jefferson. He quickly grabbed Max by her hand and pulled her up like she was a feather. He led her to the office as Max couldn’t see where she was going due to all of the tears in her eyes. She could barely walk too, but luckily, Mark was strong enough to half carry her around the school. Soft sobs still escaped her mouth every now and then. She was in shock and she knew she wasn’t letting it all out, she couldn’t. 

Once they were in the office, Mark gave her a quick, big hug and helped her to sit down. 

“Police is on the way.” he said, his words sounding empty. “Max?” he asked: “Can you tell me what happened?” 

She couldn’t, not now. She was still in tears, now properly sobbing at the realisation that she had just lost her childhood best friend, the best friend whom she hasn’t spoken to in way too long despite not living too far away from her for the majority of this academic school year. 

Soon, the police arrived as well as private investigator Ian. Mark probably called him too. It wasn’t long until they were all in the principal’s office talking about what has happened. 

Police officers and Ian inquired Max to tell her story, and she told them everything she could remember from the conversation Nathan and Chloe had. Everyone looked uncomfortable, especially when Max said that Nathan brought out a gun and shot Chloe before bolting out through the door. Police were taking her statement whilst Ian chatted to Mark and was checking something on his phone. Mr. Madsen was outside, sitting with a couple of police officers and discussing what he has found. He was in shock and needed medical attention for it. 

Max kept on zoning in and out, remembering everything she did with Chloe as a kid back to what happened just hours ago, and then back to feeling guilty about not contacting her and then again back to what happened in between Nathan Prescott and Chloe Price. If only she stepped in and said anything, literally anything. Just, for example, she could have told Nathan that he wasn’t supposed to be in the female bathroom, instead of cowering away in the corner. God damn her curiosity. 

Her mind also ventured to her dreams and what they told her about Nathan Prescott. She remembered every conversation she had with him. She remembered every conversation she had with Kate, Dana and Mark about him, even Victoria. He was bad news, she knew that from the beginning. And apparently, he was distributing drugs, which meant that Chloe was using something of whatever he was distributing too. She already knew that he drugged Kate Marsh and was now super inclined to believe that he drugged her too. It had to be, he was a bad egg. There was something wrong with him. And now he was gone, with police looking for him all over the place for a murder. Students were chatting about it, gossiping and creating their own stories no doubt; she thought to herself. Who wouldn’t, something like this doesn’t happen every day at the Arcadia Bay. 

In comparison to her last bad encounter with what she was now pretty sure was Nathan Prescott, this one actually traumatised her. She never saw anyone die before, especially not in such a manner. She was now pretty sure that Nathan was the one of the four involved at the chase in the dark forest back at the beginning of the school year. She was sure as she had time to analyse his voice and compare them to the voices in the forest. He threatened her before and on a couple of occasions at least, so it wouldn't be illogical to believe that it was him drugging her as well, to get back to her for being close with Mr. Jefferson. She knew he wanted to be very close to Mr. Jefferson. That’s what everyone has told her. He must have had been jealous. Her dreams would confirm that. “And then he’ll be just mine” it echoed in her head. If it only were memories instead of dreams. She could get him down for that one too. 

Her head started to hurt. More than anything else, she just wanted to be left alone. More than anything she just wanted to go to her room, or even to go over Mark’s to have someone around her. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to be alone or if she wanted for someone to just be there. 

She just hoped they would find Nathan Prescott soon, before he does something stupid again.


	18. Chapter 18

___oOo___ 

It was a sleepless night for Max, full of tears and quiet sobs. She couldn’t believe of what took place yesterday. The little sleep that she did get was tainted by nightmares of Nathan drugging her and killing Chloe. She wished she didn’t fall asleep at all. Kate came to check in on her and wanted to talk to her, but Max refused, explaining that she needed time for herself. She felt bad for Kate as Kate looked maybe even worse than Max did. She also wondered what was going through Kate’s mind but became too busy and too involved in her own grief that she couldn’t really help herself or Kate at the moment for that matter. Kate looked very worried and worn out, and like something happened to her again recently. But Max decided she had to deal with her own grief at the moment. She slowly but surely took out her phone and messaged Chloe’s mum, Joyce, to let her know how sorry she was for what had happened. She knew she was supposed to give her a call, after all, they were super close and she was kind of a second mother to her. But she couldn’t bear to hear her voice. Not after what had happened, not after she didn’t have any guts to call and stay in touch after Chloe’s dad had died. 

She only wished she was with Mark. Well, maybe. Maybe she preferred to be alone. She tried to imagine Mark comforting her but nothing good came to her mind, nothing that would actually work. So she maybe preferred to be on her own, at least for now. Shocking images flew through her mind as she remembered the recent events. Alongside that, the Nathan’s voice from her nightmares echoed through her head. She might be onto something or she might be completely fooling herself. 

The time for her lectures had come and she quickly prepared herself, chucking on some makeup to hide the dark circles below her eyes. She couldn’t hide the puffy eyes though, but she didn’t really care about it too much. Now she just had to be able to survive the day without starting to cry in front of everyone. 

She found it very challenging even before she entered the classroom because everyone who saw her tried to stop her and ask her about what had happened. They have all heard the story so far and received an email about it, but they all knew that Max was the one who actually saw it so they wanted details. How insensitive people can be; she thought to herself. But it was only just a curiosity and she couldn’t blame them too much for that. She would be very curious about what had happened too. But it was hart to fight the tears as the memories overflew her mind again and again with every person who asked her what had happened. 

Mark waited for her in the front of the class, and promptly dismissed everyone who tried to talk to him. Max didn’t plan on stopping but he called out her name. 

“Not now.” she told him in a voice just slightly higher than a whisper so that no one else could hear it. 

Kate approached Mark just after her and asked him if he had a moment. Since Max declined his time, he agreed to Kate’s request. 

“I’ve got to tell you something about Nathan Prescott.” she heard Kate say before she entered the classroom. 

She sat in her chair and observed Mark and Kate talk. She couldn’t hear them but it was obvious that Kate was quite nervous and anxious, maybe even hurt whilst Mark seemed dismissive of whatever she was telling him. She could see them raising their voices but because of everyone else talking in the classroom she still couldn’t hear them. A moment after, Kate took off with tears in her eyes and Mark just looked after her. He shrugged his shoulders and entered the classroom. 

“Okay guys, as you know, today is the last day to give in your entry photographs. I’m waiting for two more students, you know who you are. If you have it ready hand it over now, if not, you can slip your envelope below my office door anytime today, well, as long as the Academy door stays open. That is your last chance!” 

As he picked up the theme for his lecture, Max couldn’t help but to gaze outside of the window. Weather wasn’t so nice today, it seemed cold and bleak. She once again remembered everything that happened and did her best to suppress her tears, hiding her face below her hair. But more than that, now she wondered what happened between Mark and Kate. Kate said she wanted to talk about Nathan. What if she told him that she believed she was drugged by him? What if Mark didn’t take her seriously? What else could she talk about with Mr. Jefferson when it was about Nathan Prescott? Maybe she knew where he was? But if she did, Mark wouldn’t have been so dismissive and it’s more probable that Kate would go straight to the principal's office or the police in that matter. 

Loud commotion brought her out of her thoughts. 

“Come, everyone come! Kate is on the roof!” Warren yelled from the hallway. 

“Everyone stay calm!” Mr. Jefferson tried saying in a stern voice but no one listened. In seconds, everyone was out in the bleak weather, rushing towards where Warren was leading them. 

Sure as a day, Kate was on top of the girl’s dorm building, looking ready to jump. Max just couldn't believe it. She had to get to her. She promptly made her way between the crowd and ran as fast as she could towards the roof. 

“Kate WAIT!” she screamed just when it seemed that Kate was ready to take a step into the void. 

“Do you see that? Is this for real?” Max heard the crowd below: “Bitch flipped out! We didn’t think she was that messed up!” they yelled. 

“Kate please wait!” Max pleaded and Kate turned to her. 

“What are you doing here, Max?” she asked in tears. “Stop! And don’t come near me! Seriously, I will jump!” 

“Okay, okay.” Max said in the calmest voice possible: “I’m right here. Kate, please...” 

“Oh, Max, I know you want to help me... I love that you were with me when bad things happened, but it doesn’t matter now. Nothing matters!” she said in a weeping voice. 

“You matter! And not just to me!” Max said and took a step forward, closer to Kate. 

“I do want to believe that.” Kate answered, looking very unsure. 

“Kate, your life is still yours. And we can get through this together. Let me help?” Max asked in a sheepish voice: “Like I helped by erasing all that crap people wrote on your room slate...”” 

“I’m glad to hear that you worry about me, that makes me feel better...” Kate said unsure. 

“Of course I worry, you're my friend Kate!” 

“I did feel better talking to you at Arcadia Teas, I always feel like you really, but I mean really listen to me.” 

“Kate, please trust me. Come and stand by me, okay? I can help you now. I know I can!” Max told her. “This morning I managed to erase the weblink to the video! It was written on one of the posters.” 

“Are you serious? Thank you so much!” Kate said, a glimpse of a smile painted across her face. “The fact that you don’t care about the video and would come up here to stop me, means a lot.” She said with tears in her eyes. 

“Of course, like we said, Nathan drugged you! We just need a way to prove it!” 

“You sound so persuasive, Max. If only...” Kate said lost in thought. 

“Kate, you know I believe you. Will you believe me? Please? You don’t have to do this!” Max took another step closer to Kate. 

“Max, I’m in a nightmare and I can’t wake up, unless I put myself to sleep! I wish I could go back in time and erase everything” Kate raised her voice. 

“Kate, this is our chance to beat the bullies! That’s the only way we can win against them!” 

“Can we really Max? I don’t believe in miracles anymore.” 

“I do! You’re part of the reason why! If you come down with me, I can tell you more!” Max continued to try to persuade Kate from stepping away from the ledge. 

“You’re such a good person Max. Even if you're full of crap, I will come with you. You’re my friend” Kate said finally. 

“Yes, forever. Can we hug on it?” 

“But nobody other than you cares about me!” Kate raised her voice again, her eyes started to tear up as well. 

“Kate, I saw that card from your father. You can count on him, he clearly loves you so much without a question!” 

“Dad does care... Even though I hurt him... He is the only one I know who believes in me... Aside from you.” 

Max took another step towards Kate and offered her a hand. Kate stood for a moment in consideration and slowly but surely accepted Max’s hand. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” Kate wept and crumbled on the floor in Max’s safe grasp. 

___ 

“Now I know that last couple of days were difficult for everybody, but I’m so proud of the way Blackwell pulled together to save a young girl’s life.” the principal said. 

Max, Mr. Jefferson and Ian stood in his office. Max was seated in a big leather chair whilst the rest stood around the table. The principal was leaned on his window. 

“Of course, you’re quite a hero for getting Kate to come down, Max.” he told her. She didn’t feel quite like a hero. If she maybe listened to her that morning, she probably wouldn’t end up on the roof in the first place. 

“I didn’t do much.” she said. 

“She’s modest. Like a real hero.” Mark added, with a shy smile on his face. 

“As a principal of the Blackwell Academy I take my job seriously. And I take the well-being of each of my students even more seriously.” the principal continued. “What happened today and yesterday should never happen again. We will make sure that the roof doors are always locked.” he took a moment of a pause: “Mr. Jefferson, I know you can’t be expected to know what your students are going through, but Kate was your assistant and you should have known that something was amiss.” Mark shifted nervously in his place. The principal took a seat. 

“Miss Caulfield, why exactly where you on the roof with Kate Marsh? Did she tell you her plan? Or anything at all? Please, tell us everything.” he intertwined his fingers and leaned on his desk. 

“All I know is that Kate was at the party and Nathan dosed her. She got wasted and kissed some boys and someone took a video. The video went viral and deeply hurt Kate as the bullying started from there. Nathan also said he was going to take Kate to the emergency room but Kate said she woke up somewhere different and doesn't remember much.” 

“That is very interesting. Please continue.” Ian said and took some notes. 

“She believes Nathan did something to her but as she said, she doesn’t really remember. I wouldn’t be surprised if he did, especially now when he is charged with a murder and still searched for.” Max shifted uncomfortably in her seat. 

“I saw the video,” the principal said, “and Nathan did appear prominently in the video and was responsible for the party, there could be some truth to what you are saying, Miss Caulfield.” 

“Excuse me.” Mr. Jefferson interrupted. “I think Max needs a break before we grill her any further. Her friend and a student just tried to kill herself, and her friend died yesterday. She doesn't need this right now.” he said in a protective voice. 

“We are almost done. Do you have anything else to add, Max?” the principal asked. 

Max felt her gut twist. She knows what she saw last that happened to Kate, and she knew she had to bring it up. “I saw Mr. Jefferson talking to Kate right before our class...” she took a deep breath: “Then Kate ran off crying.” Mark shifted in his place uncomfortably again with a sad expression on his face. 

“Miss Marsh has been very withdrawn lately.” he said in a sad voice. “And I assumed this awful video was the cause. I hated seeing students laughing at her as a result.” His facial expression painted something grim and he continued after a short pause: “She told me that Max was the only one who believed her and would actually listen to her.” 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Jefferson” Max said sheepishly, hiding her blushing cheeks underneath her hair. 

“No, on the contrary. It’s good and right that you brought this up. Now, I wanted to help, but I guess I was too late.” Mr. Jefferson said waving his hands. 

“Well, now, this is problematic.” the principal considered. “The publicity is rising and perhaps... you shouldn’t represent the Blackwell Academy at Everyday Heroes contest in San Francisco.” the principal concluded, now looking at Mr. Jefferson. 

“Are you serious?” Mark asked, disbelief clearly visible on his face. 

“I am. We don’t need any negative press about that event.” 

“I can hush the event up.” Ian said. “It’s a part of a job for a private investigator.” 

“Hmmm.” the principal considered. “Well, then perhaps if Mr. Ian manages to hush it up, Mr. Jefferson can represent at the Everyday Heroes Contest. But further disciplinary actions need to take place from the Academy for you, Mr. Jefferson.” 

“I understand. There are bigger things at stake than me. The life of a young girl, for once.” he said, sounding sad and serious at the same time. 

“Okay. Everything we talked about here will be looked into. Now, Miss Caulfield, please sign her to confirm what you have told us.” the principal said and slid the form across the table to Max. She picked up the pen and signed the paper. She exchanged awkward looks with everyone in the room. 

“Well, I think we know less now than when knew we started.” Ian said. “We will look into this from here onwards. Miss Caulfield, you’re free to go.” he told her and she quickly packed up her things and rushed to her dorm room. 

She couldn’t believe she just blamed her boyfriend and as a result, he is getting some disciplinary actions done and maybe won’t be able to go to Everyday Heroes Contest in San Francisco. She quickly dropped him a message, hoping that they could meet up at the lighthouse tonight after she goes to visit Kate in the hospital. They needed to talk this through. 

___ 

Her visit to Kate was a short but sweet one, Kate looked so happy to see her and Max brought her one of her favorite books so that Kate had something to read. She also brought her some chocolate and flowers to make her feel better. And it seemed to work. She didn’t stay long as staff wouldn’t allow it (since Kate just arrived on the ward) so instead, she went on her way towards the lighthouse. 

She didn’t have to wait long for Mark to arrive. 

“Sorry.” she told him sheepishly from the bench as he approached, looking serious and sad. 

“It’s okay. I have said what I have meant. It’s better that you brought it up. It will help the investigation.” 

“Did they find Nathan?” she asked. 

“No. Not yet.” he said and sat down next to her. He pulled her in a cuddle and kissed her forehead. 

“Do you think Nathan has something to do with Rachel’s disappearance too?” she asked after a moment of silence. 

“Hm.” he said and remained silent for a long moment. “Maybe. I never thought that Nathan would be capable of murder. Now they’re investigating if he was capable of drugging girls. And if that is the truth, then I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s a shame. Rachel was such a good student of mine.” 

“What about the disciplinary actions that will be taken for you?” she asked sheepishly again. 

“I’ve been suspended for a week.” he said, but with a small smile on his face. 

Max looked at him aghast. He only returned a bigger smile. 

“Now we will have time to hang out more after your classes.” he told her, and once the realisation hit her, she smiled back. 

“What did you talk to Kate about in front of the classroom?” Max asked after another moment of silence. 

Mark remained quiet for quite some time, considering his words. “She wanted to talk about Nathan Prescott and that she believed she was drugged. I didn’t believe her, so stupid of me.” he said. “Then she went to try and kill herself. I would have never forgiven myself if she went through with that, if it weren’t for you there to stop her.” 

They both remained quiet after the conversation. It was getting cold as the sun slowly faded away. He kissed her softly and groped her hip and upper leg. 

A message arrived on his phone that ruined the moment. The message was from Ian. 

“They found the same drug in Kate’s system as they did in yours.” he told her, his face turning very serious. 

“What does that mean?” 

“It means that you and Kate were drugged by the same person as it’s a concoction that needs to be made carefully and expertly.” 

Max gasped. Her dreams were true! 

“I’ll ruin you for him and then he will be just mine! It is a dark room for you, Max, same as it was for Rachel and Kate!” she said as the words echoed through her head. 

Mark looked at her confused. 

“That is what Nathan keeps on telling me in my nightmares, maybe my nightmares are true?” 

Once again, Mark remained silent for a long while. “And maybe your nightmares are just nightmares. We will have to see.”


	19. Chapter 19

___oOo___ 

Everyone seemed sad and withdrawn today. Maybe assholes finally realised what bullying can do to a person; Max thought to herself, reflecting on recent events with Kate. The poor girl was now in hospital for a suicide attempt, but at least it was just an attempt. Max thought she probably wouldn’t be able to handle if she lost another friend in just two days. Maybe everyone was on the edge regarding the murder that took place in the female bathroom too. The bathroom was still closed off by police tapes and everyone seemed to avoid it in broad circles. A curious couple of days to say the least. Max still felt miserable, she did just lose a friend and almost lost another one. Guilt washed over her as she felt somewhat responsible for both incidents, even though she logically knew that she wasn’t responsible in any sort of way. Everyone just seemed to glide through the hallways. Even Victoria and the rest of the bullies seemed to be sad and anxious about recent events. She hoped that they felt guilty about what happened to Kate. Their behaviour is what led Kate to the rooftop in the first place. 

The day of lectures was long and boring. They had a substitute female teacher instead of Mr. Jefferson in their art and photography class and Max couldn’t concentrate at all. She dreamily gazed through the window, daydreaming about seeing Mark back in the classroom. Victoria seemed to be really bothered by this too and remained silent and quiet throughout the whole lecture. She didn’t even try to answer on any of the questions or to bully Max. She actually gave Max a sad and an apologetic look at one moment and Max had to rub her eyes to ensure that what she saw was true. 

Unable to concentrate or daydream due to ugly thoughts in her head, Max quietly texted Mark underneath her desk. 

“Can we meet up tonight?” she sent a message. 

Just moments later an answer arrived and it said: “Of course, I will pick you up at the usual place at 5 PM. See you soon.” 

The usual place was a few blocks from the campus where they both knew they couldn’t be seen together. 

The day really was long and boring. Everyone seemed so quiet but none of the students seemed to pay attention to their lecturers, even Warren was extra quiet and withdrawn, not showing any interest in his favourite science lecture. 

“I will go visit Kate today.” he whispered to her. 

“Go, she will be happy to see you. I went to see her yesterday and will go to see her again tomorrow. I want her to have some rest but I will drop her a message later.” Max whispered back. 

It took forever for the lunch break to take place and Max found herself anxious again. Warren, Dana and her decided to grab something from the canteen together, and Max opted for those yummy veggie noodles. She knew they were high in calories but she needed it. If she was going to put some weight on, she definitely needed it. Don’t; the voice in her head whispered but she did her best to ignore it; It will make you fat; it continued. Max forcefully giggled; Ha! Fat! That’s what I’m aiming for at the moment you asshole; she answered to her voice. Warren and Dana gave her an odd look at her weird giggle that she seemed to be having by herself for whatever reason. 

They proceeded to discuss in great detail of what had happened in the last couple of days during their lunch break. Max felt slightly sick explaining the details of what happened in the bathroom. She didn’t mention that she was in there for almost having a meltdown, but nevertheless, what happened between Nathan and Chloe brought tears to her eyes. Dana and Warren apologised and turned their attention to what happened to Kate instead. Max told them about her suspicion of Nathan drugging her and told them that Kate was a hundred percent sure it was him drugging her as she saw him slip something in her drink. She also explained that Nathan said he would take Kate to the ER but she ended up waking up somewhere else, but she didn’t know where. 

She also told them about being drugged herself. She said she had no recollection of what happened and made sure not to mention the time it had happened to avoid making Warren feeling guilty. If he had stayed it would have been different, she would have had protection and her attacker maybe wouldn’t even try to attack. She told them she also believed it was Nathan Prescott and told them about the nightmares she had had too. 

“I’ll ruin you for him and then he will be just mine! It is a dark room for you, Max, same as it was for Rachel and Kate!” she told them in a whisper as the words once again echoed through her head. However, there wasn’t much anyone could do as long as Nathan was roaming free somewhere. He was yet to be found. Knowing that he was still out there made them all feel angry but also cautious. They decided that no one was going anywhere alone, so Dana and Warren decided to visit Kate together. Max promised she would stay in her dorm room as she had a lot of homework and reading to do. They didn’t have to know of her plan of meeting Mark after the school lectures ended. That was the last thing she wanted to share with anyone. Kate and Ian knew and that was enough. More than enough. It had to remain a secret. She was lucky that neither Dana or Warren remembered to ask where she was and what she was doing when she was drugged, but that was probably because she covered herself by saying that she, same as Kate, couldn’t remember much and woke back up somewhere in Arcadia. Then she told them she took a week off and went home as she felt ill. They knew she was on a sick leave for a week anyway, so she had to include it in her story. 

It was hard sharing important information and hiding information that was also important at the same time. It took some skill and Max felt clumsy whilst doing it. But it seemed to work well. 

___ 

Mark picked her up exactly when he said he would and at the exact time at that too. He promptly removed his expensive camera from the seat next to him and placed it at the back seat. She took a seat and after a quick kiss, they were on their way. 

“How are you doing?” he asked, slightly worried look on his face. 

“I’m not gonna lie, I’m not doing the best.” she told him, single tear forming in her eye. 

“Shhh, I’m here now. Everything will be okay.” he told her and placed his hand on her leg, giving it a light squeeze. 

“How have you been eating?” he asked bluntly. 

Max gasped before she managed to gather herself and answer: “Better, thank you for your concern...” 

“I’ll make sure you keep it up.” he told her with a serious expression on his face. 

It wasn’t long until they reached the beach. They haven’t been there together since the beginning of the academic year. 

“I thought you could use the walk.” he told her softly, cautious expression painting over his face. He pulled her in semi hug and they walked together, staying silent. Weather was not the best, but the warmth of his body kept her going. She was sure she would shiver otherwise if she wasn’t half hidden beneath his jacket. 

They found a good rhythm and walked silently, step by step. It felt calming. The smell and the sound of the sea, the smell of his cologne, the warmth of his body... If everything that happened didn’t happen, it would have been perfect. 

Slowly but surely, they approached the bench they sat on the first time they visited the beach. They took a seat in silence and Mark pulled Max on his knees. They sat in silence for a little while, semi hugged whilst Max appreciated his warmth. 

“Talk to me.” he said with a serious and sad expression on his face, noticing tears forming in Max’s eyes. 

They spent some time talking about Chloe, about what took place in the bathroom. Max told him about their friendship and how close they were as kids and teenagers. She told him about losing contact with her after she moved to Seattle with her parents and that she didn’t have any guts to write to Chloe after her dad had died in a car crash. She told him she was supposed to get in contact with her as soon as she returned to the Arcadia Bay but she got so consumed with her eating (yes, she came clean to him about that too) and her homework and the crush she had on him. Making new friends wasn’t easy either and she wanted to make sure she was spending enough time with Kate, Warren and Dana to ensure those friendships would last. In the end, she was just so self-involved that she completely forgot to contact her childhood best friend, and every time she would remember to do so, something crazy would happen and she would forget once again. In the end, she felt worse and worse about it and found it harder and harder to find an excuse why she hasn’t contacted her yet that she almost gave up on the idea of contacting her all together. And then she died, right in front of her eyes. And Max didn’t even recognise her. Bitter tears streamed down her face as Mark held her in his warm, strong arms, trying to comfort her in any way. 

But he didn’t know how to comfort her, so he just tried with occasional “Hush, I’m here.” and “Everything will be okay.” or “It’s just nightmares.” 

Once she finally calmed down, a wave of exhaustion overflew her. They talked about Kate and Nathan some more and her expression was grim so Mark decided it was enough of talking. 

“We should let what happened with Nathan go and not think about it anymore. It’s in polices hands now. Leave it alone. Let’s go to my place. I’ll cook us some dinner.” Mark concluded. This made Max feel like something was amiss. 

She didn’t even notice it was already getting pretty dark as she was so lost in her grief. She agreed and soon they were silently walking back to his car. 

___ 

Dinner was nice as always and Mark even managed to make her smile and laugh on a couple of occasions. He decided not to mentioned Chloe or Kate or Nathan for that matter any longer and turned their theme of conversation to good movies and good music. They found themselves playfighting around the table during the dinner and poking at each other jokingly. She finally felt better. Maybe she really did need time with him, he could always make her feel better in the end. He took such a good care of her. He prepared her favourite meal for dinner and tried to ask her if she wanted any meat. She declined and he asked if she was sure. 

“Okay, I’m not vegetarian. Meat is just too scary for me right now.” she told him, anxiety washing over her. 

“Okay, I won’t push you too hard. Not just yet.” he told her with a soft expression on his face. He now knew what was going on with her. Well, he knew it from before but now Max confirmed it and told him all about it herself. It terrified him, but he couldn't tell her that. He had to be a strong pillar for her, like he was so far. 

“So, just out of the curiosity, why are some food scary and others are not?” he asked. 

“It has to do with calories they have, at least for me. Some foods are completely forbidden, like bread for example. Others I can have at times, for example, bananas, although they are mostly fear foods whilst apples are not. And they have a similar amount of calories, depending on the size of the portion but you get me. It doesn’t really make any sense and it’s completely illogical in the end, to be honest with you. So I can’t completely answer your question when I’m not completely sure myself. All I can tell you is that some foods makes me a lot more anxious than the others, or eating makes me feel guilty for that matter.” she explained whilst waving with her hands. He only nodded what he probably hoped looked like understanding but his expression was more confused than anything else. Max found that funny and giggled to herself, which only confused him even more. 

He giggled back since he found her giggling to be cute and pulled her in by her hand into a big, deep kiss. She returned and they found themselves making out for a while, each exploring the other with their hands and groping at the soft places. 

Mark moved his lips away from Max’s and took a deep look at her, finding himself lost in her deep blue eyes. She dreamily gazed in his brown sparkling eyes, slowly blushing. 

“I love you, Maxine.” he said after a moment of silence and smiled. 

Max gasped. She wanted to hear this from him for so long. Even before they met she heard him saying things like these in her daydreams, and even more so after they sort of started dating. She blushed hard and said: “I love you too, Mark.” She felt it, deep inside her heart, she felt the love. It wasn’t just a crush anymore, it wasn’t just being in love anymore either. It was more than that. She truly had deep feelings for him and she was a hundred percent sure she did indeed love him. She just couldn’t believe he told her that. 

“I never opened myself this way to anyone. I seek and find trust in you and there is something new for us every day. And all these things I just don’t say... I’m sorry. I just find it hard to speak my mind at times, especially on topics like these. I was afraid that you might not feel the same.” he told her, both sadness and excitement visible on his facial expression. 

“We feel the same, and nothing else matters.” she answered him, still blushing hard, butterflies in her tummy going wild and her heart beating super fast. She could feel the warmth of his body and his own heartbeat going crazy. 

“I feel so lucky to have found you.” he told her and pulled her in for another sweet kiss. 

He grabbed her by the hand and started leading her toward his room. She knew what was going to happen and she wanted it too. They were going to make love. Just, she felt like something was amiss. Why tell her he loves her now? Just to make her feel better? Because of everything that had happened? Did he really love her? Nonsense, Max, you’re overthinking it again; she told herself but the feeling of something amiss didn’t go away. 

She wished she could concentrate on him kissing her and exploring her neck with his lips, but she couldn’t ignore the feeling and what happened in the past couple of days. Or overall, in that matter. She knew he wasn’t using this “I love you” to get her in the bed because he could do that whenever he wanted, since she wanted it too. Maybe he really did love her? As he said, he was afraid that she wouldn’t feel the same. His hands expertly took of her shirt and now he was hugging her and groping her hips and bottom whilst kissing her neck and shoulders. 

Yet, Max couldn’t turn off her mind. She would find herself relaxing for a moment but then her mind would bring back the bad memories. Being chased in the forest, that sucked ass. Being sure that Nathan was the one who pinned her down on the cold, muddy ground. Yet, Mark seemed slightly dismissive of that when she told him what happened again on the beach bench, and when she confronted him with her suspicions. Same as what happened with Kate. Maybe he just didn’t have anything better or smarter to say? 

She didn’t even notice that they were already on the bed now, him kneeling above her, still kissing her and slowly undoing her belt. But Max just couldn’t shut down her brain. Images of Victoria gossiping with her friends flashed through her mind, she remembered the way they talked about Rachel’s disappearance and that she was involved with Mark. Then she remembered how Dana told her that she saw Mr. Jefferson and Nathan having lunch down at the Arcadia Bay, which Mark did explain, but still. Mark never fully explained his inspirations to her when they talked about it, he just said moment in the moment, just like it was her inspiration. But his photographs displayed something different. 

She remembered seeing Nathan, Mark and Mr. Madsen talking in the hallway. She could still remember clear as a day the way Nathan smirked whilst Mark dismissed Mr. Madsen. He was obviously trying to get him out of some trouble, but why? Yes, they did have some sort of relationship, Mark did explain. But how often did Mark had relationships with his students? Any sort of relationship? He never liked to talk about Rachel, that she could gather from his facial expressions. And now he didn’t want to talk about Nathan either. You need to let go of it; he told her back on the beach bench. But she couldn’t, Nathan killed her best friend and drugged Kate and her. But Mark wouldn’t really listen, he always said it was just nightmares rather than a possible reality. Even after Ian confirmed that Kate and her were drugged with the same drug. 

She remembered the feeling Kate described of how it felt being drugged. Paralysed and heavy limbs, bad headaches. That's exactly how she felt. And Mark said that it had to be done by the same person since it was a concoction that had to be made expertly. Max remembered feeling like this on a couple of other occasions too, on a couple of other occasions when she was just with Mark. Nathan did something to her, Kate and Rachel. What if Mark was involved too? Hmm...; you're overthinking it, Max! 

Yet, flashes of feeling exactly the same effects of drugs when she woke in his car after the dark chase in the forest flew through her mind. And the camera, the camera was in a different place from what she last remembered last! In a moment of clarity, words escaped her lips: “It was you!” she said and pushed him away. 

He kneeled above her, his facial expression changing to a great deal of confusedness. He rubbed his neck and said: “What? What are you talking about?”


	20. Chapter 20

___oOo___ 

Before she managed to shut her mouth, the words escaped her lips: “It was you!” she said and pushed him away. 

He kneeled above her, his facial expression painted with a great deal of confusedness. He rubbed his neck and said: “What? What are you talking about?” 

It was now or never; Max thought and pushed him again, trying to get away from being under him. She tried to squirm away but he started to fight her to stay where she was - underneath him: “Wait, wait! What’s the matter?” he asked, still confused. 

Max just released a scared grunt and tried to get away from him again. 

“Max, what is going on?” he asked and held her with his strong hands. 

“In the car, and later, it was you too!” she told him, but she didn’t know why. It wasn’t the smartest move and she regretted it as soon as the words escaped her breath. She now felt very anxious and scared of what might happen next. 

“I love you, Max!” he tried, but she still tried to squirm away. He kneeled above her, towering over her and his facial expression changed from confused to angry very fast when he realised that she was having none of it. 

“Why did you have to do this, Maxine?” he said with a sad expression on his face: “I told you to leave it alone.” he said and placed his whole body weight on her. He then proceeded to placed his hands around her neck. He slowly started to tighten the grip. “It wasn’t supposed to end this way.” he told her sadly. 

She tried to fight him choking her, but to no avail. She felt herself losing her consciousness. Sweet, sweet Maxine, only my Maxine; echoed through her mind as she once again slowly slipped into the dark void. 

___ 

Max woke up somewhere she has never been to before. Her limbs still felt slightly paralysed and stiff, and slight nausea overflew her. However, she felt much better and more in control than the last time she was drugged. She could look around and she was pretty sure she could speak. She looked up and the bright light was clouding her view of the area. She sat in the chair, unable to get out of it. She wasn’t tied, she just felt like she couldn’t stand up or try to move away. 

The camera flash caught her attention. She looked up and saw Nathan taking some photos of her. Nathan??; quick thought overflew her mind. 

“I’m getting some spectacular images here, Max.” he told her with a wide grin on his face. “Victoria would kill to be in your place, yes, but she doesn't understand-” 

“What are you doing?” Mark’s voice came from the distance. 

“Mr. Jefferson, I was just-” 

“No, no and no. You’re not allowed to do that. Get away from her.” Mark said. 

So Nathan did. Camera shots stopped and Mark approached his expensive camera. 

“How are you?” he asked her, but she did not answer. He took his camera in his hands and curiously went through the photos that Nathan took just a moment ago. 

“I hope you didn’t give her more of the drug?” Mark inquired with Nathan. 

“I have. But just a bit.” Nathan answered, looking anxious. 

Mark slapped him: “You idiot, I told you to stay away from her and leave it to me!” Nathan held his beaming cheek with his hand and gave Mark a grim look. 

“She was getting back to it too quickly, I had to give her another dosage, I gave her only a half.” 

Mark slapped him again: “I told you to stay away from her, she’s mine.” 

Max could then see something in Nathan's eyes, other than he obviously felt hurt by Mark’s actions and words, he was jealous too. Jealous of me?; Max thought. It could be, words from the nightmare came to haunt her again and she spoke up: “I’ll ruin you for him and then he will be just mine! It is a dark room for you, Max, the same as it was for Rachel and Kate! What is going on?” she managed. 

“Ah, there we are. I never asked you if that was true, Nathan.” Mark said turning to him. Nathan’s face went red and he only nodded. 

“That does not bode well with me, Nathan. You’re the one to blame then that we are in this situation right now. Such a shame, especially since everything was going so well. You will pay for that one, I promise.” Mark told him with and angry look on his face, raising his voice. 

“I couldn’t help myself!” Nathan tried to defend himself. 

“That is a poor choice of words. Is it true you wanted to ‘ruin’ her so that I could be just yours?” he asked him in a stern voice, his face becoming more serious and angry than before. 

Nathan nodded. 

Mark pulled out a gun and both Nathan and Max started to freak out. 

“WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!” both of them screamed. 

“SHUT UP!” he yelled louder than them and both of them zipped their mouths shut. 

“Max, close your eyes darling, pretend you’re somewhere else for a moment.” Mark told her, but she couldn’t. He watched her expectantly so she did as she was told. She prompted her ears to hear the conversation that continued in whispers. 

“You little bastard,” Mark said, “You wanted to fuck her didn’t you. So that you would take away her innocence from me?” 

“I’m sorry Mr. Jefferson, I didn’t mean to...” 

“Yes, yes you did and just a moment ago you confirmed it to both me and her. This does not bode well for you at all. I can’t have someone who is threatening Max walking around freely.” 

Max opened one of her eyes to take look at the scene. Mark cornered Nathan against the wall and held his gun on him. Nathan looked pale and scared more than anything else. She promptly closed her eye again, feeling fear overflow her. 

“I will end you.” Mark whispered to Nathan. 

“N-No!” Nathan yelled. Max heard a loud slap and something falling on the floor so she opened her eyes. Mark hit Nathan with his gun on his head and Nathan was now laying motionless on the ground, blood pouring from his head. 

“I’m sorry you had to witness this, Max.” Mark yelled from the other side of the room as he was slowly starting to drag Nathan’s body out of the view, leaving the blood trace behind him. A moment later, they were both gone from the room. 

Max took a quick look around. It was a Dark Room, there was no questioning that. Is this where Kate woke up? And where Rachel ended up too?; she questioned herself, wishing she was smart enough to see through Mark’s deception earlier and to never end up in this position. This was not a good position to be in for anyone. 

She tried to stand up, but she couldn’t. Her legs were still super stiff. She tried to move around her arms and she could move them just a little bit, however, nausea washed over her as she tried to move. I’m stuck; she thought. Oh how she wished she saw through Mark’s game before. All the evidence was there, but she was in love with him, she couldn’t see it clearly. Well, not until it was too late. Not until last night. And she played it so stupid. If she was smarter, she would be safely hidden away from him, maybe studying in her dorm room right now. It wasn’t supposed to end this way; his words echoed through her mind. What did he mean by that? Maybe he never intended her to end up in the Dark Room like Kate or Rachel. Maybe he did really fell in love with her during their time together and changed his mind about bringing her here? 

___ 

Some time has passed but Max was unsure how much. She felt disoriented and lost in space and time. It was dark, just dark after all. Other than expensive gear shining right at her. It gave her a headache, or better yet; the drug is giving me a headache; she thought to herself. 

Not long after that thought occurred, she heard footsteps approaching. She kept her eyes closed, just as Mark told her. She found it hard to disobey his orders, and that was probably due to the drugs too. Anyway, she preferred trying to imagine being somewhere safe, and since keeping her eyes open gave her nausea, she kept them closed trying to visualise her escape. Think, Max, think!; she thought to herself. How in the hell does she get out of this one? 

Footsteps approached and she opened her eyes. It was from Mark. 

“Don’t be afraid, there is nothing to be afraid any more. Nathan won’t hurt you. I won’t hurt you.” he told her in a soft shooting voice. 

“Why are you doing this?” she asked him, feeling tears filling her eyes. She was so scared and tried to push herself up from the chair. 

“You’re trying too hard, Max. I know you’re scared...” he told her. “You all have the same doe-eyed look when you wake up here,” he continued, “replaced by fear as you relise what is about to happen.” he told her in a soft voice. 

What was going to happen? “Mr. Jefferson, why are you doing this?” she repeated her question, her voice cracking. 

“Oh Max, I’m doing this because, simply put, I’m obsessed with the idea of capturing the moment when innocence evolves into something else. Corruption for example.” he took a pause, carefully observing her face with a sad look on his own face. “That shift from black, to white, to gray, and beyond... Innocence creates my hell. Most models are cynical and they lose their naivety. However, some students, like you, carry their hope and optimism with them like an aura. And those lucky few become my models.” he explained whilst waving his hands, sad look still on his face. “You were never supposed to become my model, not like this. You were, well, are my muse.” 

“You’re a psychopath!” Max yelled at him. 

He placed his hand over his heart and said: “And why does this part hurt then? Why have I fallen for you? I have feelings for you, Max. I did not lie when I told you that. I thought I might be one, but you changed everything! Sadly for you, I’m sane enough that no one knows what is happening to you right now.” he explained, raising his voice. 

“Did you had anything to do with what happened to Kate?” she asked, tears in her eyes visible now. 

“Shhhhh.” he said: “No. That was Nathan’s doing. He wanted to impress me and brought her here on his own. That one is on him.” 

“Go to hell. You will, for everybody you and Nathan have hurt!” she told him, now raising her voice. She once again tried to shift from her seat, but was still unable to. 

“Unlike pure and sweet Kate Marsh, I don’t believe in that bullshit.” he told her sternly. “She could have been my masterpiece, but Nathan went away and ruined it all. Kate had such a strong spirit-” 

“Blah, blah, blah. God, I hate your voice now!” she told him in disgust. 

“You might as well savor it, considering it’s going to be the only one you will ever hear again.” 

“Kate believed and she survived! Nathan failed to break her and she is stronger than ever!” she told him defiantly. 

“Who knows, maybe I’ll pay our dear Kate a visit sometimes soon.” he told her, lost in thought. “You know,” he continued, “when you told the principal that I made Kate cry, I thought you almost had me. Luckily, our principal Wells is just another drunk in the closet. Too bad you already made a convincing argument against Nathan in the principal’s office. Thank you so much for setting him up for me. I do know that Prescott's are going to have a major scandal when they finally ‘find’ Nathan” he concluded. 

“Where are we?” she asked next. 

“Somewhere safe.” he told her simply. 

“You used Nathan!” she told him defiantly once again, her voice coated with disgust. 

“I prefer the term manipulated. Nathan was easy to twist around, with his daddy issues. He needed someone to take him under his wing and I did. How else do you think I got all this expensive gear?” he asked.” Anyway, the clock is ticking for Nathan, but not for you.” 

“What about Rachel Amber?” she asked, her voice cracking again. 

“Ah, Rachel Amber.” he said in a sad voice: “That’s the real tragedy. Idiot Nathan thought he could be an artist like me... He overdosed her, like he almost overdosed you. I would have never forgiven him if something had happened to you back then, if I’ve lost you in the same way I’ve lost Rachel. But Nathan showed his true colours now, and he needs to be put back to his place.” Mark said with a sad expression on his face. “Now excuse me, Max, this conversation is giving me both headache and heartache. I have some work to do, we will talk more later. Try to get comfortable, my sweet Maxine.” he said and sat at the desk with a computer on it. He brought his expensive camera with him too and started to upload photographs from it to his PC. 

___ 

What in the hell do I do?; Max asked herself. She tried to move again and she relaised that now she was able to move. She sat still for another moment, considering her next move carefully. Mark seemed to be completely disconnected from the world as he played with the photos on his computer, so Max slowly but surely stood up and in a crouch started sneaking towards, what she hoped was the exit door. She ignored nausea washing over her. 

“I see you Max Caulfield, don’t even think about leaving here until we talk about us.” he raised his voice, now fixating his gaze at her. 

Guided by the small dosage of the drug left in her system, she walked straight to him, to face him. 

“I just wanted to know if...” he rubbed the back of his neck: “you would like to spend the rest of your time in my Dark Room? Your purity inspires me so much...” he said with a sad smile on his face: “And we could be so happy together... Here for now, and then later, who knows? Who needs selfies when I can give you portraiture?” he stopped for a moment. “Just tell me you love me.” he said in a sad voice. 

Max squirmed in horror. She had to play his game in order to survive: “I have been dreaming of the day when you would finally tell me... I love you, Mr. Jefferson.” 

“Call me Mark.” he said in a stern voice. “We need to play catch up on all the time we have... wasted. Especially since there is no one else left in your life. I love you too, Maxine.” he said with a big sad smile on his face. 

Max noticed photographs of her, lying in his car on the desk right next to him and fear overtook her. 

“No!” he said after that. “Lies! Sweet lies! This is too good to be true! Love, hate, love*…" he was lost in thought, his gaze distant. “I hate that I love you. I tried to love you, I thought I could. And I tried to own you and I thought that I did.” he said turning back to her. “I wanted to keep you here forever and take photos of you, corrupt you before the real you lies to waste.” he said, lost in his thoughts again. “And you told me that I was the only one. Sweet little angel, you should have run while you still had the chance. Lying and crying, you’re dying to leave, I can see it in your eyes. Innocence creates my hell...” he said and brought out his gun. “You were never supposed to end in here. It’s all Nathan’s fault. Maybe it’s my own doing in the way too. I thought I wanted you here in the begging but changed my mind when I fell in love with you!” he said with a single tear forming in his eye. “We were supposed to be happy. I was going to give all of this up for you. I was supposed to get Nathan arrested and leave this chapter behind me. We were supposed to be a happy and healthy couple. I was going to leave it all behind, for you, for you and me, for us! I told you to leave it alone, why couldn’t you leave it alone?” he said in a twisted voice. 

He caught his head in between his arms, still holding his gun with his right hand, looking so distressed. “I thought you cheated on me with Warren, it would be so much easier if you were a whore. Try to understand me, little girl, my twisted passion makes me lost in my sick head. I live for you but without you, I’m not truly alive. Please, take my hands before I kill again.” he said in an extremely sad voice: “I still love you, but I hate that I do. It burns.” he said with tears forming in his eyes. He offered her his hand, but she did not offer hers back, finding herself frozen in fear. 

“You were never supposed to know. You were never supposed to be here.” he still held out his hand expectantly out to Max, but frozen with fear, she did not take it. “So, let it be that way.” he said in a sad voice, twisted expression on his face and a single tear escaping his eye. 

They were just standing there, just looking at each other with tears in their eyes, motionless, occasional sob escaping Max's breath. Mark's expression painted something grim, and just a moment later, a loud bang echoed throughout the Dark Room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING
> 
> *Love Hate Love by Alice In Chains ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQACFQfKfO0 )
> 
> Thank you for sticking through this journey with me. I hope you enjoyed it :) Any comments and kudos will be greatly appreciated. If you guys are up for it, I can try and make a happy ending part for the story too, but that is up to you. Hope you enjoyed the journey of Max and Mr. Jefferson!


End file.
